


Falling For You

by orphan_account



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Aloholic, Child Neglect, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Homophobia, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Motorbike, Neglect, Sexism, Slow Burn, drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:59:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Next door neighbours AU<br/>Nicole moves across the street from the Earps. Obviously, her and Waverly have an instant connection.<br/>Warning: there will be fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is my first attempt at a longer fanfic, hopefully you'll enjoy it!  
> Comments will be greatly appreciated and I'll happily take on board any suggestions or improvements (I know that I have a LOT of room to improve)  
> I'm a pretty slow writer, so I'll probably update once every couple of weeks or so, barring life getting in the way.  
> 

“Oi! Give that back!” Waverly shouted after her older sister, who had just taken the last donut and was promptly running away from her.

“But it’s got sprinkles on!” Waverly reluctantly laughed as Wynonna left the room. She was left alone, and the silence settled after the front door slammed shut. It was a silence that Waverly was used to – Wynonna spent a lot of her time with Dolls and Doc, and her other sister, Willa, was busy being… well, busy being Willa. Waverly wasn’t angry or anything, she just felt a little overlooked sometimes. She spun round on the kitchen stool. The room was spotless, almost clinical. There wasn’t anything to identify it as the ‘heart of the home’. The same could be said about the rest of the house – it seemed as if they lived in a show home, with nothing to suggest a family actually lived there. Her dad wasn’t big on family photos – they just reminded him that their mother wasn’t there.

Waverly stood up and threw the now-empty donut box away. She opened the fridge to see what else there was to eat. It turned out that they had a bag of spinach, an aubergine and a slightly stale block of cheese.

“Great – just great.” Waverly muttered. She checked what she was wearing – one of her many crop tops and high waisted shorts, like usual. She pulled on some sandals and was halfway out of the door before remembering her dad. “Dad! I’m just going out for a bit!” She waited for the response – a grunt – and then left without another word.

* * *

 

“Wyn, I’m at the shops, what do you want to eat tonight?” Waverly wandered aimlessly down the aisle at the local convenience store. Her sister’s response was almost inaudible on the phone, so Waverly jogged to the end of the aisle to try and find better reception. She had just turned the corner when she collided with another body. Her phone went flying out of her hand, and she found herself sitting on the floor, surrounded by packaged food.

A voice came from right above her, much closer than Waverly was expecting. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you… Are you hurt?”

Waverly looked up to see a girl standing over her. Her face was scrunched up in worry, but Waverly still saw the obvious beauty and striking red hair which tumbled past her shoulders in waves. She took the extended hand, and the girl helped her to her feet.

Waverly realised she still hadn’t spoken. “No, it was my fault really. I was running, and you were there and… Well, you know…”

She paused, smiled for a second, and then let the smile fall. She had no idea how to respond to this girl. She seemed so confident, so in control; and it made Waverly realise how flustered _she_ was. She took a deep breath, and managed to say, “It was my fault.”

Something about this girl was making her talk nonsense. She flushed, and glanced at the ground to break the eye contact she was having with the girl. “Look, I’ve made you drop your shopping. I’m such an idiot!”

Waverly crouched down and began gathering the other girl’s shopping which was strewn across the supermarket linoleum. The other girl knelt beside her and helped, having to push locks of gorgeous red hair away from her eyes. Waverly was instantly transfixed by the movement, until she realised she was staring. The girl noticed, but instead of being creeped out, she seemed to be amused. The corners of her lips _(which Waverly definitely_ hadn’t _been staring at)_ twitched upwards in a small, kind smile.

“Don’t worry about it…?”

“Waverly… Earp… Waverly Earp.” Waverly blushed even more as the girl smiled in obvious mirth at Waverly’s flustering.

“I’m Nicole Haught.” Waverly lifted her eyes to the girls’ once again and smiled genuinely at her as she shook her hand. The hand that gripped hers was firm and cool, making Waverly very aware of her own sweaty palms. _Sweaty palms? I never get sweaty palms…_

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, Nicole.” Waverly said, shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, as she handed over the dropped food.

“No, I just moved here from Toronto with my mum.” Nicole paused for a moment, her beautiful brown eyes focused on something behind Waverly. “Is that your phone?” Waverly looked where Nicole nodded to.

“Yes! Thank you!” Waverly ran over to where her phone lay face down on the floor. “Please don’t be smashed, please don’t be smashed.” She muttered to herself as she picked it up. Thankfully, it seemed to be unharmed, but she could hear Wynonna’s voice coming indignantly from the speaker. She cringed, imagining the earful she was about to get from her sister for ignoring her for so long, and lifted the phone to her ear.

“… and you’re obviously not listening _at all_ , so I’m going to hang up now.”

“Wait, Wynonna –” A shrill beep sounded in her ear, and Waverly looked at the phone for a moment in dejection before putting it in the back pocket of her shorts. _At least she didn’t rant at me_. Waverly looked at Nicole to see her eyebrows raised in a question as she leant against a display.

Waverly explained. “My sister. She hung up.”

“Aren’t you going to ring back?”

Waverly grinned. “Nah, she’ll just have to deal with having spinach for dinner.” She nearly snorted with laughter at the thought of Wynonna being forced to eat healthily, then realised the consequences of pissing off her sister. The laughter died in her throat. 

Nicole’s eyebrows shot further up her face, an expression that would have been comical on another person, but just looked sexy on Nicole.

Waverly blushed crimson. _Why was she talking about spinach, and why was she having_ those _thoughts about Nicole_? _Sexy?_ She’d known Nicole for all of two minutes, and she probably already thought Waverly was a weirdo, like the rest of the people in Purgatory did.

Nicole noticed the scarlet splotches on Waverly’s cheeks, and gave her a smile so dazzling that Waverly’s breath hitched for a moment. “Look, I’ve got some shopping of my own to finish. Do you want to come with?”

Waverly barely faltered. “Yeah, sure. I’ll pick up some stuff too – Wynonna really hates spinach, and she’ll just be a whiny bitch for the rest of the week if I don’t get her something really unhealthy to eat.” _Babbling – again._

Nicole’s smile widened. “Cool. This way?”

Waverly nodded. As they walked, Waverly asked, “So where do you live?” A pause, and then, “Not in a creepy stalker kind of way. Just in a friend kind of way.” She trailed off into a fit of nervous giggles, which thankfully Nicole joined in with. _God, even her laugh is gorgeous_.

“I live on Church Street? Next to the park and, well, the church.”

“Oh my god – I live on Church Street too! Wait – did you just move in yesterday?”

Nicole nodded. Waverly rounded on her, causing Nicole to stop in her tracks, halfway through pulling a bag of pasta from the shelf. Waverly tried to ignore the fact that she would never have been tall enough to even touch the pasta and instead focused on the conversation again, putting aside her height insecurities.

“You’re my next door neighbour!”

“No way!” They both laugh loudly, causing the shop assistant to glare at them for a moment.

“Walk home with me? I could use a little company, and I don’t think I remember the way back.”

Waverly smiled at her new friend. “Of course – it would be a pleasure.” They began to walk towards the checkout area, both with arms full of food.

Nicole chuckled, and looked at Waverly in a way that shouldn’t be legal in a public place. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Waverly nearly dropped her spaghetti.

* * *

 

“Tell me why, ain’t nothin but a hearrrrtache. Tell me why, ain’t nothing but a miiiiistake. Tell me why, I never –”

Waverly groaned in frustration as the terrible singing continued. “Wynonna! Shut the hell up!” Her sister pushed open the door to Waverly’s bedroom, where Waverly was currently trying to do some work.

She continued to sing, louder than ever. “I waaaant it thaaaaat way.”

Waverly threw a nearby pillow at Wynonna, who just caught it and smirked at her sister. “Come on. You love my singing.”

“No, I really don’t. Not even a little.” Waverly tried to stay focused on her work, even as she heard her sister come further into the room. All was quiet for a moment. “Wynonna?”

Waverly suddenly squeaked in dismay as hands gripped her waist and proceeded to tickle her, just under the ribcage. “No! Wynonna! Please! No – arrrgh!” Waverly became incoherent as her sister continued to be relentless. She could hear Wynonna laughing evilly as she continued to torment her, and knew she was enjoying herself immensely. Eventually, the tickling stopped, and the sound of heavy breathing (from Waverly) and chuckling (from Wynonna) filled the room.

“I hate you, you know that?” Waverly grumbled once she’d got her breath back. Wynonna plonked herself down on the floor in front of her sister and grinned at her.

“You don’t. You love me.” She said the word ‘love’ in a singsong tone, and drew it out for a few seconds.

Waverly couldn’t help herself – a reluctant smile crossed her features. Wynonna was insufferable, especially when she was in one of _these_ moods, but she was right. She did love her.

“So, whatcha doing?” Wynonna reached up and plucked some papers off Waverly’s desk. She flipped through them, a disgusted expression appearing. “Homework? Who even does this stuff?”

Waverly rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Me. Because I want to succeed in life.”

Her sister threw the homework back on the desk and turned to Waverly. “Just because I don’t do homework doesn’t mean I can’t be successful. It just means that I don’t think school is all that important.”

Waverly sighed. They’d been over this countless times. Wynonna had no idea what she wanted to do in life. She was content to live in the moment, and take each day as it came. She had made no plans for the future, despite being in her final year at college. Waverly, on the other hand, was academically gifted, and took full advantage of that. She knew she wanted to go into pursuing her love of history when she had a degree, perhaps delving more into the research side of things. As a side project, she’d been doing some research on the local area’s history. It seems that Purgatory has quite the violent past. She turned back to her sister, about to explain for the umpteenth time how important school and exams were. Wynonna caught sight of her expression and jumped to her feet.

“Uh-oh. You have the serious face on.” She began to back out of the room hastily, ignoring Waverly’s protests and attempted lectures. “Nope, can’t hear you. La la laaaaa.” She continued to ‘la’ all the way down the stairs and out of the front door, leaving Waverly by herself. Again.

She sighed and turned to her homework. Pausing for a moment, she glanced around to make sure Wynonna had left, and then softy sang, “I want it that way.”

* * *

 

“Waverly? See, you’re ignoring us again.” Steph’s grating voice snapped Waverly out of her daydream and back into reality. Back into the stuffy classroom, with the perverse underlying smell of sweat in her nostrils, and the intense looks of boredom on her classmate’s faces surrounding her.

“What? Sorry.” She looked down at the pen in her hands, and made a few more notes in her book. She’d pretty much taught herself French in the last summer holidays, but a few more notes couldn’t hurt.

“I was saying that we never really see you outside of school anymore.” Steph already sounded bored with the conversation, though it had been her that initiated it.

“We get that you’re super busy, but we miss you.” Chrissy chimed in with a small smile that Waverly returned. Chrissy had always been Waverly’s favourite – Steph could be a total bitch, but Chrissy always tried to be nice, or at least try to undo some of the damage that Steph caused with her thoughtless words.

Waverly sighed slightly. “Yeah, well Willa’s back from Europe, and me and Wynonna were making sure that she’s settling back in okay.” She caught the look on Steph’s face, and quickly added, “But we could meet up this weekend? On Saturday night? Slumber party at my place, like we used to.”

“Yeah, that sounds great Waves.” Chrissy said enthusiastically.

“Oh goody, a night with your weirdo sisters, just what I want.” Steph said cuttingly. Chrissy looked down at her hands, obviously wanting to say something, but never quite being able to stand up to Steph.

Waverly felt the tears well up in her eyes, from anger or indignation or sadness, she wasn’t quite sure. Steph must have seen them as Waverly looked back down at her notes, for she added, “Actually, your sisters can be pretty cool sometimes. I’m in.”

“Okay then, it’s a date.” Chrissy said, obviously relieved that the situation’s tension had been so quickly resolved.

Waverly looked back towards the front of the class, to where she could see the back of Nicole Haught’s head. Her flaming red hair kept drawing Waverly’s attention away from the direct pronouns on the board, especially when Nicole turned her head slightly and her hair caught the light – it looked like liquid flames. She had found herself being distracted a lot lately by Nicole Haught. That morning, she had caught sight of her walking to school, and had nearly ran outside to join her when she realised she was still in her pyjamas. Waverly instead settled for watching her out of the window until she disappeared from view, and then had plenty of time to reflect on her admittedly stalker-like behaviour. Waverly had decided it was because Nicole was new in Purgatory and she needed to look out for her. Then, it was maths class, and Waverly couldn’t help but steal glances at Nicole instead of watching the teacher. Now, it was French, and she still couldn’t tear her eyes away from the redhead.

She heard Steph exclaim exasperatedly next to her, and knew that she’d been speaking to her again, and yet Waverly couldn’t find it in herself to care.

* * *

 

“Come on babe, it’s me.”

Waverly managed to squirm out from underneath her boyfriend, Champ. “I know; it’s just that I’m not in the mood. Not right now.” Waverly shuffled over to the edge of the bed, and sat with her back to him, pretending to look for something on her bookshelf.

When he didn’t reply, she glanced back at him. Champ’s disappointment was clear on his face. Ever since she had sex with him a few months ago, he was desperate to do it every time he saw her. Waverly was less eager – she just hadn’t enjoyed it very much. He caught her glance, and his features twisted in displeasure.

“You’re never in the mood.” He stormed out of her room, and Waverly let out a small sigh of relief when she heard the front door slam downstairs. She knew that she needed to have a talk with him about the whole situation, but she couldn’t find the will to do so. Sighing, she slumped backwards on her bed and gazed around the familiar room. Her desk was covered in homework and half-completed essays, with her laptop balanced precariously on top of a particularly large pile. She knew that she should try and do some school work, especially since she was currently achieving perfect grades at school, and she wanted to keep them. Right now, though, she just wanted to distract herself from her problems with Champ.

From the room next door she heard the sound of gunshots and screams – Wynonna was playing on her Xbox again. Waverly listened for a moment, and then wandered into her sister’s room. She was lay on her bed, Dolls sat next to her, and Doc leaning against the wall.

“Hey Waves, wanna watch?” Wynonna asked, barely glancing up from the TV screen where she was currently fighting three demons simultaneously.

“Sure, why not.” She leant against the wall next to Doc, who turned to her with raised eyebrows and those dark eyes that made her think he knew all of her secrets.

“Were you just having a quarrel with your boyfriend?” His southern drawl and peculiar way of speaking never failed to make Waverly smile slightly. Doc Holliday and Dolls were Wynonna’s best friends. Doc was much older than both Dolls and Wynonna – he was twenty three, and originally from Austin, Texas. He was more like the older brother that Waverly never had, and she had no problem spilling her guts to him.

“Champ’s just annoyed that I won’t have sex with him whenever we’re alone in a room together.” She said it nonchalantly, indifferently, because the truth was that she didn’t really care that Champ was annoyed with her. The only thing bothering her was the knowledge that she needed to break off their relationship, because she knew it wasn’t fair on Champ to be with her when she didn’t want to be with him.

Doc’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at Waverly, who just chuckled.

“Well, what can I say? Men like Champ Hardy are simple creatures, mostly just after the simple pleasures in life. Now, men like me, we like to –”

He broke off as Wynonna interrupted with a raised voice. “Don’t go filling Wave’s head with your bullshit Doc. Waverly – don’t listen to him. His head’s up his ass.” Doc chuckled, and Dolls grinned and shook his head, but Wynonna never took her eyes off the television screen. A demon burst into flames as she shot him, and she grinned – “Yeah, that’s right. Back to hell you go.”

Dolls grinned, and he exchanged a quick high-five with Wynonna before a chiming sound brought their attention back to the screen. Her sister squeaked in excitement as the game unlocked a new weapon for her to use. When she realised what it was, Wynonna practically wet herself. “A flamethrower! About damn time!”

Waverly rolled her eyes at her sister’s obsession with the game, and left the room, saying, “I’m getting food.”

She was halfway down the stairs when she heard Wynonna shout, “Waves! Do we have any donuts left?” Waverly smiled and shook her head in exasperation as she continued walking, hearing her sister repeat, “Waves?”

As she opened the fridge, she saw the bag of spinach still sitting on the shelf. It instantly reminded her of Nicole, and of the extremely awkward conversation she had with her about said spinach. Smiling slightly at the memory, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and, before she could change her mind, pressed Nicole’s number.

 _“Hello?”_ Nicole’s voice sounded confused – Waverly had to remind herself that Nicole doesn’t have her number, just the other way around.

“Hi, it’s Waverly. Waverly Earp? We met yesterday at the store.”

_“Yeah, yeah, of course. Waverly. What’s up?”_

“Nothing much, just thought I’d ask how school went.” Waverly grabbed a bottle of milk from the fridge and began filling a mug with it, before putting it in the microwave.

_“Fine really. Not much different to my last school, just a bit smaller. The people here are pretty strange though – I don’t think they see many outsiders.”_

Waverly smiled, despite the fact that Nicole just criticised her entire town. “No, I get you. Not many people come to Purgatory you may be surprised to hear.”

She hears Nicole laugh on the other side of the phone.

_“Really? But it’s so charming, and all the people are just delightful. Not to mention how many things there are to do – I’m frankly shocked that it doesn’t get more visitors.”_

Waverly laughed as she pressed her phone between her ear and shoulder in order to remove her mug of hot milk from the microwave and stir in cocoa powder. She retired back to her room with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, chatting happily away to Nicole Haught. Waverly decided there and then that Nicole was _much_ better company than Champ was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly becomes a little obsessed with Nicole, Nicole is a cat-person, and Champ's a dick.  
> WARNING: there's homophobia and sexism in this chapter, and reference to alcoholism

Waverly checked her watch for what must have been the tenth time in the space of a minute: 7am. She was sat on the staircase, dressed and ready to go, with her bag packed and lay on her knees. From the stairs, there was a window she could see through which showed her the front of Nicole Haught’s house. Waverly didn’t like to admit to herself how strange her behaviour was – she just wanted to talk to Nicole again before classes, and what better way to do that than walk to college with her? Just then, the front door opened and Nicole appeared, beautiful as always. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, as usual, but her ability to look good (really good) in every outfit she wore took Waverly’s breath away. Waverly ran up the stairs to Wynonna’s room, turned on the lights and threw the covers on the bed back.

Wynonna yelped as the cold hit her. “Wha – What? What’s going on?”

“Wyn, you’re going to be late for class again.”

“Waves? It’s… 7am. What are you doing?”

Waverly was already on her way out of the room. She did the same thing pretty much every morning to get her sister out of bed, yet Wynonna was still disorientated when she had just woken up. Waverly knew that even with her help, Wynonna would still almost be late for college. Waverly left the house, and spotted Nicole a little further up the street.

“Nicole!” Waverly shouted, speed walking towards her.

Nicole turned around at the noise, saw Waverly and beamed at her. Waverly tried to speed up, her stride turning into a very fast walk with the occasional jog.

“Hey Waves.” Nicole said as they fell into step beside each other. The casual use of her nickname made Waverly even more flustered than she already was.

“Hey, I just, you know, saw you… on my way out of the house… thought we could walk together…” Waverly was crimson with embarrassment as she lied, trying not to think of how she was actually awake and ready an hour earlier than usual, just so that she could walk with Nicole. _Yes, let’s not think about that_.

“Well, I’m glad you did. See me, that is.” Nicole smiled at her, looking like she was about to laugh. Waverly smiled back at her, having to tilt her head upwards to meet Nicole’s eyes. Waverly chuckled slightly, as she again noticed the height difference between them. Nicole was easily four inches taller than she was. It was quite unfair, really. Nicole grinned back, her eyes lighting up as she smiled.

They talked all the way to college. Waverly had never felt as comfortable with another person as she did with Nicole (except Wynonna of course). As they walked through the school gates, Waverly felt hands snake around her waist and a chin on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly, and was greeted by Champ’s grinning face. He gave her a long kiss on the lips before she had the chance to turn her head away. Once the kiss was broken, she glanced around to see Nicole walking quickly away from the couple. For whatever reason, Waverly felt the need to apologise to her. She shook her head and turned to face Champ.

He saw the look on her face and immediately said, “What? I’m not even allowed to kiss you anymore?”

“I didn’t say that, Champ.”

“No, but you were about to. Waverly, come on – what’s up with you lately?”

She sighed. She really didn’t want to have a long conversation with him now; it was too tiring and would ultimately end with her feeling sorry for him, and him getting his own way. She knew that he manipulated her with his big, sad eyes and downturned mouth, but she couldn’t bring herself to be harsh with him. After all, he was one of the only boys in this school that actually treated her like a person, and not like a… well, like an Earp.

Waverly gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I’m sorry. Of course you can kiss me.” He smiled at her, gleeful that she had given in so quickly, while she cursed herself for being such a pushover.

He grabbed her hand. “Come on, I’ll walk you to class.”

 _What a gentleman_.  

* * *

“Hey, Waves!” Waverly turned around at the shout to see Wynonna jogging towards them. She smiled as she waited for her older sister to catch up to them. When she did, she made the introductions.

“Wynonna, this is Nicole Haught. Nicole, this is my sister Wynonna.”

Nicole smiled at Wynonna, saying, “I’ve heard of you at school. You’re the one that’s always getting excluded or suspended or something?”

Wynonna grinned, excited that her reputation had already reached Nicole. “Yeah, that’s me. The town pariah.”

Waverly sighed and started walking again. She’d met up with Nicole after class ended, and they were on their way home. Nicole and Wynonna followed. “Wyn, Nicole’s just moved in across the street.”

“Oh, so you’re to blame for clogging the road up with U-Hauls all weekend.”

Nicole grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

Wynonna laughed, almost causing Waverly to stop dead in her tracks. Wynonna doesn’t like new people (she doesn’t really like people in general), and she _definitely_ doesn’t laugh at their jokes.

It turns out that Wynonna got along very well with Nicole. Once they got talking about Orange is the New Black, it seemed that their friendship was solidified. Waverly just walked along in silence – having never seen the show, she couldn’t really comment.

She instead entertained herself by watching Nicole as she talked to Wynonna. Her half-smile never left her face, and her laugh was quickly becoming one of Waverly’s favourite things. She decided there and then to make it her mission to get Nicole to laugh more often.

Eventually, Waverly had to interrupt. “Sorry guys, but you realise that we’re home?”

Nicole looked around and grinned. “Well, would you look at that.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “You guys want to come to mine for a bit?”

Wynonna answered first. “Unfortunately, I must decline. I have plans with Doc and Dolls. I guess I’ll see you around, Haught.” She walked away, leaving Waverly standing awkwardly with Nicole in the middle of the road.

“Waverly?” Nicole asks again.

“Yeah, sure. I’d love to come in for a bit.”

Nicole smiled her beautiful, genuine smile that lit up Waverly’s world. “Great.”

* * *

“Mum? I’m home.” Nicole shouted as she entered the house ahead of Waverly. A woman – who Waverly assumes is Nicole’s mother – comes hurriedly down the staircase, a jacket pulled over just one arm, her other hand filled with a set of keys, her phone and a pair of shoes. She set down the shoes, and began to shove her feet into them, leaning against the wall for support while leaving her keys and phone on the nearby table. She looked up as she finally pulled the jacket over her other arm and saw Waverly standing awkwardly behind Nicole.

She smiled at Waverly, a smile so similar to Nicole’s that there was no doubt they were mother and daughter. “Hey Nicole. And who is your friend?”

Nicole turned to Waverly. “Mum this is Waverly Earp – she lives across the street.”

Nicole’s mum pulled her auburn hair from underneath the jacket collar and stepped towards Waverly, extending a hand. “Hi Waverly. I’m Karen. I’m really sorry, but I’m actually late for work, so I’m going to have to dash out.”

Waverly nodded understandingly. Karen turned back towards her daughter and gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Right girls, remember – lock the door after me, don’t let in any strangers, and please try not to burn the house down.”

“Okay mum, we’ll try.” Nicole smiled at her as she rushed out of the front door. The door had almost closed when Karen came running back in again.

“Forgot my phone.” She said by way of explanation.

“Bye mum.” Nicole said after her, her amusement evident in her voice. She locked the door and turned to Waverly. “So that’s my mum. She’s a bit mad, I know, but –”

“No, I think she’s great.” Nicole smiled at her for a moment, before a loud purring noise broke the silence. Nicole looked around, saw the cat, and strode over to scoop it up in her arms. She cradled it close to her face and made cooing noises when it purred at her. She brought it over to Waverly. “Waverly, this is Lola.”

“She’s so… cute?” Waverly wasn’t really sure what to say. “I mean, I’m more of a dog person.” Catching that look that Nicole gave her, she hastily added, “But cats are also good. Yay cats.”

Nicole set Lola down on the floor where she scampered off to what Waverly thought was the kitchen, and looked at Waverly with raised eyebrows as she straightened up. “Yay cats? Seriously?”

Waverly just smiled in response. Nicole laughed, grabbed Waverly’s hand and led her up the staircase. “Come on, I’ll show you my room.”

* * *

Waverly hardly noticed her phone light up and vibrate, she was so engrossed in the show. Nicole had introduced her to the world of Orange is the New Black, and Waverly must remember to thank her for it… Just as soon as she finds out how Piper is going to get Alex out of that washing machine. Nicole noticed, though, and nudged Waverly with her elbow.

“Waves, your phone.”

“Oh, can you pause for a moment?” As Nicole hunted for the TV remote, Waverly picked up her phone and answered it.

“Hello?”

_“Waves, we’re just about to have dinner. Thought I’d let you know, in case you wanted something to eat.”_

“Thanks Wyn, I’ll be over in a minute. Make sure there’s some left?”

 _“Yep, sure.”_ Waverly hung up and turned to Nicole who was looking at her with that questioning expression that Waverly somehow knew so well. “It was Wynonna – my dad’s made some food.”

“Oh, okay. Well, you should go and eat.”

“Yeah.” Waverly knew she should get up, but she was so comfortable lying here with Nicole. They were squeezed on top of Nicole’s single bed, and yet Waverly didn’t want to move, despite her neck getting stiff from staying in the same position for hours on end.

“Waverly…?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” Waverly swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She stretched; her back clicking as it moved for the first time since 4 o’clock. She felt Nicole’s eyes on her and turned to face her again. “Talk later?”

Nicole had flushed slightly, but sounded normal as she answered. “Sure, I’ll ring tonight.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Nicole smiled.

“I’m going now. Bye.” Waverly smiled as she left the room. She just remembered something as she reached the front door. She shouted upstairs, “Nicole?”

“Yeah?”

“You gonna lock up after me?”

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Oh, and Nicole?”

“What, Waverly?”

“Don’t let any strangers in. And try not to burn the house down.”

“Goodbye Waverly.”

Waverly grinned. That was the most fun she’d had in ages.

* * *

“Waverly? Where’s the alcohol?” Steph said from the kitchen. Waverly rolled her eyes at Chrissy who laughed, then stood up to find Steph rooting through every cupboard in the kitchen.

“Why? Is my company really that unbearable?”

“No, I just need something to make this evening a little more… you know… fun.”

Waverly stared at Steph for a moment, unable to believe what she’d just heard. She’d always known Steph was rude and self-centred, but had never quite appreciated just how much of a bitch she really was. After spending so much time with Nicole lately, Waverly began to realise that friends shouldn’t actually talk to each other like that. But it wasn’t worth fighting over – she knew that Chrissy would take Steph’s side, even though she would probably agree with Waverly, and that the evening would just get awkward. So she just said, “We don’t keep alcohol in the house.” _A barefaced lie_.

“What? But your dad…”

“Is an alcoholic, yes.” Waverly paused. Steph just gave her a blank look. Waverly sighed and continued, “So we don’t keep alcohol in the house. If he wants to drink, he can do it in a bar or some ditch, anywhere really, just so that I don’t have to see him shitfaced drunk.” That bit was actually true. Her father did think that there was no alcohol in the house. Little did he know about Wynonna’s stash in her wardrobe, but that was purely for Wynonna, and sometimes Doc and Waverly (Dolls didn’t really drink all that often, and if Willa knew about it, then their father would know about it too).

Chrissy tried to ease the tension in the room. “I’ve just had a thought – why don’t we put a film on? What about ‘The Notebook’?”

Steph visibly brightened at the idea of Ryan Gosling topless. She practically ran into the living room to look through Waverly’s DVD collection. Chrissy went with her, offering Waverly a small smile which Waverly returned. Waverly was left alone in the kitchen for a moment, and leant against the counter. She found herself wishing that Nicole were here – she’d be much more fun, and they could be watching Laura Prepon and Taylor Schilling instead of Ryan Gosling.

 _Obviously, they’re much better actors than he is._ Left with that thought, Waverly took a deep breath and walked back into the living room, resigned to a night full of gushy propositions of love.

 _Great_.

* * *

“Wait, what?” Waverly said, turning her head to look at Nicole beside her.

Nicole grinned back at her. “I got on the basketball team.” They were both lay on Nicole’s bed, with a bowl of popcorn on Nicole’s stomach.

“But you didn’t even tell me you were trying out!” Waverly grabbed a fistful of popcorn, spilling some on Nicole in the process.

“I didn’t want to be embarrassed if I didn’t get accepted.”

“Of course you’d have got on – have you seen yourself?” Waverly gestured down Nicole’s body in a wide, sweeping hand movement.

Nicole looked at her in confusion, her eyes wide. “Erm, thanks?”

Waverly laughed, suddenly awkward. She tried to diffuse the situation. “So when’s your first game?”

Nicole still looked a little spooked, but slowly answered her. “Tomorrow. It’s a home game, if you want to go.”

“Obviously! I’ll be there, without a doubt.”

Nicole smiled at her, picked a piece of popcorn from between her ribs and ate it. Waverly gulped and looked away, suddenly feeling very hot. “So, erm, I didn’t know you played. Basketball, I mean. I didn’t know you played basketball.”

Nicole shifted slightly on the bed, pressing into Waverly a little more for a moment. When she spoke, her voice seemed much closer to Waverly’s ear. “Well, I’ve always played. In Toronto, we were the area’s best basketball team around.” She paused, worry flashing across her face for a second. “But it’s been a while since I’ve had a proper game. I won’t be as good as I used to be.”

Waverly turned her head and looked into Nicole’s eyes. “You’re going to be amazing.”

Nicole didn’t respond for a moment, and then quietly said, “Thanks.”

Waverly smiled at her, and then picked up the remote. “Now, where were we up to?”

* * *

“Oh come _on_! That was obviously not a foul!” Wynonna shouted from beside Waverly, who had absolutely no idea what was going on. When she had told Nicole she would be at the match, she didn’t mention that she’d never actually watched a game of basketball before in her life. Wynonna, though, loved it, and was doing enough shouting for the both of them.

Dolls’ quiet but assured voice was heard from the other side of Wynonna. “Actually, Earp, it was. Look at her – she’s bleeding from her _busted nose_.”

“Wimp.” Wynonna muttered. Dolls sighed in exasperation, and turned back to the game. Waverly noticed that Doc was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual. He wouldn’t have known what was going on either – they could have been oblivious together. As it was, Waverly was stuck between Wynonna and Champ, perhaps the two biggest basketball fans on the planet. She looked back at the court, and easily found Nicole’s flaming red hair. It was tied up in a tight ponytail, and Waverly had to admit that Nicole looked good, especially in the basketball vest and shorts.

“Disgusting,” Champ murmured into her ear. Waverly spun round to look at him.

“What?”

“All these butch lezzies thinking they can play a sport that’s obviously meant to be played by men. It’s disgusting.”

Waverly glanced across to see Wynonna engrossed in a conversation with Dolls about the play that’s just happened. Nobody else heard Champ’s comments.

“Babe? You ok?” Concern was in his voice, and Waverly realised she was actually shaking with barely supressed rage.

“Champ. I knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t think you were a sexist, homophobic dick.” Waverly’s voice was strong. She was, for once in her life, sure that she was making the right decision here. Two months ago, perhaps, she would have let the comment slide. But now – something had changed. She had changed. She wasn’t about to let some ignorant boy-man say such terrible things.

“Waves? Did you just call me a dick?” Champ sounded confused.

Waverly made herself look at him, deep into his eyes. She didn’t want this next message to be misunderstood. “No, Champ. I called you sexist and a homophobe, as well as a dick. And you know – I don’t want to date any of those things. So we’re over. We’re done.”

She stood up, unable to be in such close proximity to him. In fact, she didn’t want to be near anybody at the moment. Waverly began to shuffle along the bleachers, trying to get to the closest exit.

She heard Champ shout after her, “Waves? Waverly!”

Waverly Earp didn’t look back.

* * *

Waverly was waiting on the steps to Nicole’s house when Nicole finally turned up.

“Waverly?” Concern was in Nicole’s voice, but then her annoyance became pretty obvious.

“Nicole, I’m so sorry I missed the rest of your game –” Waverly stood up to let Nicole past, and then followed her to the front door.

“You were there for ten minutes. Ten minutes! You didn’t even stay for the first quarter.”

Waverly had no idea what a quarter consisted of, but she didn’t tell Nicole. “Look, some stuff came up –”

Nicole managed to unlock and open the front door. She paused, and then turned around to look at Waverly. Her voice softened as she looked at Waverly’s frantic eyes. “Waves. It’s okay that you missed the game. Really, I don’t mind that much.” She hesitated, and then continued. “It’s just you said you’d be there, and you made me believe that I could play really well. And… and when I looked for you, you weren’t there.”

Waverly felt her eyes well up with tears. One thought stuck in her mind – _she had looked for me in the crowd._ She needed to explain herself – she couldn’t live with Nicole thinking that she’d let her down. “Nicole, I… I wasn’t there, because I had just broken up with Champ. Okay?” She felt herself begin to babble as she became more and more worked up, and her hands began to fly around. Nicole stared at her for a moment, surprise written all over her face.

“Do you want to come in?”

Waverly thought about it, and realised she needed to make Nicole fully understand why she had to leave. “Yes please.”

Lola greeted them as they walked through the door, purring as she rubbed against their legs. Nicole paid her some attention, and then led the way upstairs. They sat side by side on the edge of Nicole’s bed, not speaking for a while.

Nicole broke the silence. “Okay, I feel like a total bitch right now –”

“No! I’m sorry for leaving so early, I just had to, you know, get out of there.”

Silence fell again. Nicole said after a while, “Are you upset about it?”

Waverly considered the question for a moment. “Not upset, not really. I realise that he’s not a great guy, and I know that I deserve better. So I’m not upset at all.” She paused. “Does that make sense?”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah, totally.” She smiled at Waverly. “And you’re right – you deserve much better than Champ Hardy.”

Waverly laughed along with her, finally feeling normal again. Nicole stood up. “Okay, so if you want you can stay over?”

Waverly nodded eagerly, saying at the same time, “My dad won’t care.”

Nicole frowned slightly, and then said, “I just need to jump in the shower.” She gestured at her sweaty basketball kit that Waverly only just noticed, and now couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from. She blushed as she realised she was staring. “I’ll run home quickly to get a change of clothes – be back in a jiffy.”

Nicole snorted with laughter as Waverly left her room, and Waverly’s face burned red. _Back in a jiffy – what the hell was that all about?_ She couldn’t seem to stop making a fool of herself around Nicole Haught.

* * *

The room was dark, the only light coming from the streetlamps outside. Waverly was lain on her back, her head turned to her right, towards Nicole. She could hear her steady breathing, but wasn’t sure whether her friend was asleep or not. On the off chance that she was still awake, Waverly softly said, “Nicole?”

The girl next to her shifted slightly, turning her body towards Waverly, and slowly opened her brown eyes. “Hmm?”

Waverly was silent for a moment, and then simply whispered, “I’m really sorry about missing your game you know.”

Nicole’s lips twitched upwards into a sleepy smile. It was the cutest thing that Waverly had ever seen.

“I know.”

Waverly continued to look at her friend for a moment. She watched as Nicole slowly drifted back into sleep, her face relaxing gradually. Waverly felt a strong urge to tuck a curl of Nicole’s red hair behind her ear. Keeping her hands clamped tightly by her sides, she watched the lock of hair flutter as Nicole steadily breathed in and out. After a minute, Waverly let her eyes close too.

For the first time in a while, she felt utterly content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, second chapter... Hope you all enjoyed it. I wanted Waverly to finally realise how horrible Champ was and break up with him for all of the right reasons, which is why I included all of that.  
> Also, I wrote this much quicker than usual. I wasn't expecting it to be ready for another few days, but I must have been inspired. Just saying, this is probably a one time phenomenon.  
> As always, I love getting kudos and reading your comments - they make this so enjoyable


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole have a picnic together, and talk about stuff.

Waverly slowly awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. _Wait… Not my window, Nicole’s window_.

She opened her eyes, the events of yesterday flooding back to her. _I broke up with Champ_ , she remembered, though only a sense of relief accompanied the thought.

“Morning.” Nicole’s smile was evident in her voice, and Waverly turned to look at her. She was still lay down, but her head was turned on the pillow to watch Waverly, and her shimmering red hair was spread out.

“Morning.” Waverly replied, voice thick as she tried to stifle a yawn. “What time is it?”

Nicole rolled over slightly to have a look at her alarm clock on her bedside table. As she did so, the covers twisted with her and Nicole’s bare back was on full view as her pyjama top had ridden up during the night. Something about it felt strangely intimate, even though there was nothing scandalous about it, and Waverly felt herself flushing. She managed to tear her eyes away from Nicole’s skin and fixate on a spot on the ceiling by the time the redhead flopped back onto her back.

“Nearly ten o’clock.”

“I should probably go soon – I don’t want to intrude on any plans you and your mum have.”

Nicole smiled at her and shook her head. “No – my mum will probably be working again today. Seriously, the only plans I had were centred around my bed, the fridge, and the television.”

Waverly giggled ( _giggled – she never giggles_ ), and said, “Well, we can hang out?” Immediately, she blushed at her sense of over-confidence. “I mean – only if you want to. You obviously don’t have to. Do you want to? Hang out, I mean? Today?”

Nicole laughed softly and flipped onto her side to give Waverly her full attention. Her sparkling eyes locked onto Waverly’s, and the brunette couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried. “I’d love to hang out with you today, Waverly.”

Waverly smiled bashfully, still gazing at Nicole. They both seemed to realise that neither girl had spoken in over a minute, and they both turned red. Waverly threw back the covers on her side of the bed and stood, stretching and yawning. She turned back to Nicole, who still looked crimson, and rubbed the crust from her eyes.

“Meet me in a few minutes? I need to have a shower and stuff.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Waverly walked out of Nicole’s bedroom, her stomach still feeling all twisted for some reason. Maybe it had been the awkward silence. _Or maybe the fact that I can’t help but glance at her lips_. Waverly hadn’t really had close friends before, but she was sure that she wasn’t meant to be imagining kissing them.

For some reason, it’s all that she can think of when Nicole’s around.

* * *

True to her word, Nicole was waiting for Waverly when she left her house ten minutes later. The redhead was leaning against the Earp’s garden wall, eyes trained on the phone in her hands.

“Hey.” Waverly greeted her, walking up to join her friend on the street.

“Hey.” Nicole said, looking up and returning her smile. “What are we doing today?”

“What do _you_ want to do today?”

“As long as I’m spending my time with you, I really don’t mind.”

Waverly tried to ignore the glowing, happy feeling that filled her, and instead focused on making sure her words still made sense. “Um, well, it’s a really nice day – what about a picnic?”

“Sounds great.”

Then Nicole smiled that special smile that made Waverly’s world explode around her.

They walked side by side down the street to the store where they first met. Waverly couldn’t help but glance continuously at Nicole throughout the entire walk. The taller girl was wearing her hair down for a change, and it fell straight down her back and framed her face beautifully. At school, Nicole’s hair was always braided, so seeing it loosely blowing in the breeze somehow made Waverly feel special, or privileged.

Once at the store, it became greatly apparent how different their taste in food was. Nicole headed straight for the food and veg section, returning to Waverly with a basketful of apples, bananas and other fruits that the young Earp had never seen before. She guiltily looked at her own basket – filled to the brim with chocolates and cakes. _It’s a picnic_ , she reassured herself, _we have to have some sort of junk food._

Nicole eyed the basket in Waverly’s hands with something close to wariness, as if the calories were going to jump out and attack her there and then.

“Is that what you eat? Like, most of the time?”

Waverly laughed awkwardly. “Well, when you say _most_ of the time…” She trailed off, but then saw the three packs of donuts at the bottom of the basket and eagerly jumped at the chance to seem a little less like a heart attack waiting to happen. “Actually, _these_ ,” she said, lifting the donuts and waving them at Nicole, “are for Wynonna.”

“But the rest is for you?” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

Waverly suddenly felt very judged, despite the fact that there was no negativity in Nicole’s voice, just disbelief.

“How do you eat that much and still look so good?” Nicole asked incredulously, eyes trailing down Waverly’s body before settling back on the basket of food.

It was an innocent question, one that Wynonna had asked multiple times, but Waverly still felt heat rush to her face. _Why am I suddenly blushing so much?_

Nicole seemed to realise what she’d just said, and gave her a crooked half-smile as if to say, _sorry, but you know it’s true_.

Waverly had never been more happy to start unloading the food at the till, cheeks seemingly stained permanently crimson.

* * *

“What’s that?” Waverly asked, dubiously poking a piece of fruit in front of Nicole. “It looks like a weird raspberry.” They were sat cross-legged on a pale blue picnic blanket opposite from one another, with the impressive selection of food spread out between them. They’d situated themselves in a secluded section of the park, sheltered from most sides by large trees that provided a welcome shade.

Nicole chuckled, picking up the berry that Waverly had prodded and tossing it into her mouth. “It’s called a salmonberry I think.”

“What do they taste like?”

“Eat one.”

Waverly eyed up the berry cautiously. “I think I’ll pass.”

“If you insist, though they _are_ delicious.” Nicole popped another into her mouth, closing her eyes and pretending to moan at the taste. The sound of Nicole’s moan had an embarrassingly big effect on Waverly, whose mouth suddenly dried up. She gulped, forcing herself to look back at the berries. In desperate need of a distraction, she leant over and grabbed one from the container.

Nicole watched her smugly, obviously pleased that she’d gotten Waverly to eat something that won’t cut years off her life span. The fruit was surprisingly sweet and juicy in Waverly’s mouth.

She swallowed. “They _are_ good.”

“What – you didn’t trust me?”

Waverly chose not to respond to that ( _how do you respond to that?_ ) and instead threw another berry into her mouth. This one was just as sweet, but _much_ juicier, and as she bit into it, the berry exploded.

Nicole laughed as Waverly desperately tried to wipe away excess berry juice from her chin, the redhead obviously enjoying Waverly’s embarrassment.

“Oops.” Waverly mumbled. _This is what I get for eating fruit_ , she grumbled to herself.

Nicole gestured to her own lips. “You’ve got a bit of… Right there.” Waverly tried not to stare at Nicole’s lips, instead quickly wiping her own mouth again.

“Did I get it?”

“No, it’s still there… A little further left… No, not that far… No, the other way…”

“Who’s left? My left, or your left?”

“My left, so your right…”

Waverly sighed in exasperation, and Nicole leaned forward.

“Just let me get it for you.”

Waverly didn’t move a muscle as Nicole leaned even closer, her face mere inches away from Waverly’s. This close, she could see the tiny specks of gold in Nicole’s eyes _which she definitely wasn’t gazing into_.

Waverly cleared her throat, and Nicole seemed to remember why she’d moved closer. She raised a hand, and gently rubbed a spot right on the corner of Waverly’s mouth. She desperately tried to ignore the feeling of Nicole’s finger on her lips, but it seemed to invade her every thought. Nicole lingered for a moment longer, and then ( _reluctantly?_ ) leaned back.

“There,” she said, unbelievably softly, “got it.”

Waverly was sure she was staring, but she couldn’t help it. The memory of Nicole’s touch was burned into her memory, the lips she touched still tingling. The only thing that made the situation less mortifying was that Nicole seemed equally as uncomfortable, and broke the silence with a, “Um, so…”

It was jarring to see Nicole so obviously flustered; such a far cry from her usual collected and smooth exterior.

Waverly blinked and shook her head a little. _Just calm down Waverly._ “Yeah.”

“Okay…” Nicole’s eyes brightened as she finally thought of a topic to fill the awkward silence. “We won the game by the way.”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday. We won the basketball game.”

Waverly grinned at her. “Great. So I’ll have another chance to watch you?”

“Definitely. Try not to break up with your next boyfriend halfway through, though.”

“I don’t think I’ll have another boyfriend for quite a while.” Waverly immediately blushed. For some reason, talking about boyfriends with Nicole seemed wrong. _But isn’t that what best friends do? Talk about boys and crushes and stuff?_ Waverly had no idea.

“No? Why’s that? I’d have thought the boys round here would be lining up to date you.”

Waverly was very uncomfortable with this conversation. Nicole had no idea of the Earp’s reputation in the town, which scared away a lot of potential suitors for Waverly. Or at least that’s the reason that she was uncomfortable with the topic, she told herself. _Nothing to do with the fact that I have no desire to date any more boys for a long, long while_.

She didn’t answer, and instead turned the spotlight on Nicole. “What about you? Did you leave a boyfriend back in Toronto?”

The thought of Nicole dating somebody made her vaguely nauseous, though she wasn’t quite sure why. She made sure to keep her smile on her face though, aware that Nicole was still looking closely at her.

Nicole snorted. “Nah. I did boyfriends for a while. Decided they weren’t really for me.”

Waverly’s head spun. _Is she gay?_ She cast her mind back to the moment they first met, trying to remember any indication… The young Earp was at a complete loss for words. She wanted to broach the subject, but hated the idea of accidentally offending her friend (Waverly was very aware that she wasn’t the best at expressing herself clearly, especially when she was nervous, and… _God dammit,_ why did Nicole make her so nervous?).

Nicole seemed to pick up on her internal struggle, and smiled softly at her. “Waverly, you don’t have to worry. Whatever you want to say, just say it.”

Waverly nodded, fiddling with the picnic blanket in her hands. She glanced down, then up at Nicole, and then down again. Still intently focusing on the blue fabric, she said (as casually as she could),”So, you’re… um, you’re a lesbian?”

“Yep.”

 _That’s it? That’s all she’s going to say?_ Waverly eventually managed to look her in the eye, and Nicole seemed to be amused by her nervous behaviour.

“Look Waves – I’ve been dating girls for years. I’m proud of who I am, and I really don’t get why people are so reluctant to talk about it.”

Finding her words again, Waverly replied, “That makes sense.”

Nicole looked at her carefully, searching her face for something. “You’re okay with it, right?”

 _Oh God, I knew I’d mess it up, she thinks I’m homophobic or something now._ Desperate to rectify the situation she thought she was in, she blurted, “God yes – I love gay people.”

Nicole’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

 _Way to go Waverly._ “I mean, I…” She took a deep breath and attempted to calm herself. _Nicole’s your friend – stop being so worried!_

“I have no problem at all with it. It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re straight or not. It’s who you are, and I love you just the way you are.” Internally, Waverly patted herself on the back for forming a coherent sentence that actually expressed her feelings.

Nicole smiled at her. “Good. I’d have been really sad to lose you.”

This conversation seemed a little _too_ emotional to be having over a picnic, so Waverly attempted to lighten the mood. “Well, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. Of course, that means that you have to try one of these.” She chucked a packet of treats at Nicole, who caught them and read the label.

“ _Starburst GummiBursts_. Have you seen the sugar content on these?”

Waverly grinned. “Oh come on, Haught. Just eat one. I promise you, you’ll enjoy it.”

The basketball player gingerly unwrapped one, and took a sniff. “Why don’t they smell of anything?”

Waverly shrugged, brushing it off. “I don’t know – chemicals or something. Now, eat it.”

Nicole took another long look at the sweet, before nibbling on a corner.

“Nicole.” Waverly said warningly, raising her eyebrows.

“Fine, but know that I hate you for doing this to me.” She grumbled, and then put the entire thing in her mouth.

Waverly laughed delightedly as Nicole chewed it, her face becoming slowly more and more alarmed. Through a mouth full of candy, she managed to say, “Waverly, why isn’t it going anywhere? It’s just… I can’t swallow it!”

Waverly dissolved into fits of giggles ( _giggles, again?_ ). Eventually, Nicole swallowed the treat and looked at the packet, still on the blanket in front of her.

“No way in _hell_ am I eating one of those again.” She flicked the cardboard box in disgust, before glaring at Waverly. “You promised I’d enjoy it!”

She grinned. “It’s not my fault you chose the weird watermelon flavour.”

Nicole grumbled, “Still, that wasn’t nice.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

Nicole finally smiled and chuckled, running a hand through her hair. “You got me there.”

* * *

Waverly Earp lay in bed, smiling as she held her phone to her ear. Nicole’s voice drifted from the other end.

“I really enjoyed today, Waverly.”

“Yeah, me too.” Waverly reflected on the day – they’d stayed in the park until the sunset, at which point they’d reluctantly left to go to their respective houses. All through dinner, Waverly had found herself missing Nicole, though they’d only parted a few hours before, and she’d grasped the first chance she’d had to hear her voice again. Nicole had sounded slightly surprised that she’d rang ( _probably wondering why I wanted to talk to her after spending the entire day together_ , Waverly reflected), but happy nonetheless.

“We should do it again.” Nicole paused, and then added quickly, “But I’m not going to eat anything that you recommend.”

Waverly laughed. “You’re such a wimp.”

“Am not.”

The conversation continued like that for another minute or so, until the sound of Waverly’s laughter brought Wynonna to her bedroom.

“Waverly? Who you speaking to?” Wynonna interrupted, flopping on the bed next to her sister.

The younger sister tried to ignore her and continue her conversation, but Wynonna must have heard the sound of Nicole’s voice, for she grappled the phone out of Waverly’s hand and shouted into it, “Haught! How you doing?”

Waverly groaned and attempted to steal the phone back, but Wynonna smirked at her and easily moved the phone away. Waverly could hardly hear Nicole, but she could still detect the confusion in her voice as she spoke to her older sister.

Eventually, after a good few minutes, Wynonna relinquished her possession of the phone and moved to the door of Waverly’s bedroom as if to leave. Halfway through apologising to Nicole, Waverly followed her and went to shut the door.

Before she could though, Wynonna stuck her foot in the doorway and asked, “You and Nicole best friends now or something?”

Waverly rolled her eyes and shut the door, ignoring Wynonna’s shout as it closed on her foot. _Serves her right_.

* * *

“So, did you have a nice day today? I noticed you weren’t here when I came home for lunch.” Karen Haught asked, taking a mouthful of her food as her daughter did the same.

Nicole swallowed and smiled as she thought of the perfect day she’d had ( _though any day spent with Waverly would always be pretty good_ ). “Yeah. Me and Waverly had a picnic in the park, and just stayed there all day.”

Her mother raised her eyebrows knowingly. “You and Waverly, huh?”

Nicole inwardly groaned, and said warningly, “Mum…”

Her mother grinned. “What? She’s a very nice girl, Nicole.”

Feeling very uncomfortable with discussing Waverly Earp with her _mother_ , Nicole just shrugged. “Yeah, she is.”

Her mum continued. “And _very_ pretty.”

 _She’s enjoying this way too much_ , Nicole thought.

“We’re just friends.” She tried to ignore the way her heart twisted as she said the words, reminding her of how much she wants to be _more_ than just friends.

Karen Haught’s eyes softened slightly as she looked at her daughter. Nicole could practically _see_ the pity rolling off her.

 _Well, I am in love with my straight best friend_.

Nicole jolted. _Love? Who said anything about love?_

Sure, Waverly had mentioned it earlier, but that was purely platonic, wasn’t it? The sort of thing that best friends say to each other. _If she knew what I actually feel…_

Her mother patted her hand, and started to clear up the dishes from their dinner. Nicole shoved her head into her hands and groaned. _I’m in so much trouble._

Though when she thought of Waverly Earp, with her blinding smile and mesmerising eyes, Nicole felt only happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how did you guys like it? Sorry about the wait, but was it worth it?  
> I'm really enjoying writing this, and your kudos and comments have been incredible, so thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Wynonna bond, and there may be some impromptu karaoke...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - this chapter has an alcoholic who is neglectful of his children. I get that it could be a sensitive issue and am just letting you know.

Nicole bit her lip, nearly turning away, before forcing herself to ring the doorbell. It had been two days – _two days!_ – since she’d last seen Waverly, at that picnic where she’d enjoyed herself so much. She hadn’t seen her on the way to college this morning, or at college throughout the day, and a nasty thought had instantly occurred to her.

 _What if she’s avoiding me?_ Waverly had _seemed_ to be fine with Nicole being a lesbian, but she was the sort of person who probably wouldn’t say anything even if she wasn’t.

They’d texted throughout the two days they hadn’t seen each other, and had even called a few times, but Nicole hadn’t seen Waverly’s face in _too long_.

Which is why she was here, in front of the door to Waverly’s house, hoping that she wasn’t crossing some line that read _don’t turn up unannounced at my front door_. She didn’t have chance to reconsider her decision though, as the door swung open to reveal a man.

His hair was greying and thin, and his eyes sunken and bloodshot. He swayed very slightly on his feet, but the thing that Nicole noticed most was the _smell_ of him. He stunk of stale alcohol, as if the scent had permeated into his very core.

Nicole hadn’t considered Waverly’s father opening the door – she’d foolishly assumed it would be either Waverly or Wynonna.

He narrowed his eyes at her and said in a rasping voice, “Yes?”

Nicole gulped nervously. She managed to choke out, “I was just wondering if Waverly was around?”

Annoyance flashed across his face. “She’s not here.”

Nicole waited for more, but when it became apparent that he’d finished, she asked, “Do you know where she is?”

“No,” and then, almost as an afterthought, “sorry.”

Nicole frowned. _How can he not know where his own daughter is? More importantly, how can he not care?_

She mumbled out an apology for disturbing him, and he went to slam the door shut. Nicole turned away, wishing she’d never rang that damned doorbell.

“Nicole!”

The redhead spun around. Wynonna was stood in the doorway, her father nowhere to be seen. Nicole felt a rush of relief at the sight of her, and managed to offer her a genuine smile.

Wynonna stepped towards her, an apologetic expression on her face. “Look… I’m really sorry you had to see that.”

Nicole shook her head, waving away her apologies, but Wynonna continued. “He’s a drunk.” She said it unflinchingly, boldly, as if she’d long ago come to terms with it. “Me and Waves just try and ignore him, y’know?”

Nicole felt a rush of guilt. _I really shouldn’t have rang that doorbell_. “Wynonna, I’m really sorry… I didn’t mean to intrude –”

Wynonna cut her off, a sly grin forming. “Don’t worry; I know the reason you came.”

Nicole’s heart started pounding. _How can she know about my feelings for Waverly? Even Waverly doesn’t know!_

“You saw my new toy, and you couldn’t wait to try it out.”

Nicole was thoroughly confused (albeit relieved). _Her new toy?_ It sounded vaguely dirty, and Nicole wasn’t sure why Wynonna was telling her about it.

Nonetheless, she followed the older Earp as she opened the garage door. Even Nicole – who couldn’t care less whether a car was a Ferrari or a Citroen – had to admit that the motorbike was gorgeous. Judging from Wynonna’s loving gaze, she thought so too.

It was a gleaming black, with silver detailing and a plush leather seat. The lines of the bike flowed and seemed to _move_ in the flickering light of the garage, as if it was a living, breathing creation.

“Isn’t she lovely?”

It didn’t surprise Nicole one bit that Wynonna referred to the bike as a person. The dark haired girl had started running her hands over the metal of the bike, as if she couldn’t stand to be close to it and not touch it.

Nicole had to grin at Wynonna’s obvious adoration for the bike. “It’s gorgeous.” She said truthfully. “Is it yours?”

Wynonna nodded, not taking her eyes off the vehicle. “Been saving up for years, and finally had enough to buy it.”

She turned to Nicole, a glint in her dark eyes. “Ready to go for a spin, Haught?”

Nicole swallowed, trying to hide her nervousness. She eyed up the bike, it now looking far more dangerous than it had previously. But Nicole was nothing if not confident (at least on the outside), so she returned Wynonna’s grin. “You didn’t even have to ask.”

“All right!” Wynonna practically sang as she looked at Nicole with a glint of newfound respect in her eyes. “But if you start screaming like a baby, I’m leaving you by the side of the road.”

Nicole chuckled. Wynonna chucked her a spare motorcycle helmet and then put one on herself. Nicole watched as the older girl threw a leg over the seat and sat down, looking completely comfortable and at ease on the bike.

“How many times have you driven it?”

“Oh, this will be the first time. I got the garage I bought it from to deliver it here, so I haven’t actually tested it out yet.” Wynonna said cheerfully, fiddling with switches and buttons on the handlebars. She glanced up at Nicole expectantly. “What you waiting for Haught?”

 _Your sanity to return_ , Nicole thought. Instead, she smiled and said, “Nothing.” She walked over to the bike, and at the seat (which really didn’t look big enough for the two of them). “So I should just sit on the back?”

Wynonna nodded. “Yep, and you can either hold onto me, or hold onto the bars behind you. Your choice.”

Nicole clambered onto the bike, her usual grace deserting her as her nerves escalated. She grasped the bars behind her, and leant back onto her hands, making sure she felt secure.

“You ready?”

Nicole nodded, but realised Wynonna couldn’t see her, so she managed to say, “Yes. Let’s go.”

The engine roared to life, not quite drowning out Wynonna’s gleeful yell. She edged the motorbike forwards out of the garage slowly. _This isn’t that bad,_ Nicole thought, relieved.

As soon as the bike hit the road, though, it surged forwards with a jolt. Nicole could hear Wynonna laughing, and realised that she’d wrapped her arms around Wynonna’s waist in her panic. She was practically attached to her friend’s back. Nicole flushed in embarrassment, but she wasn’t mortified enough to let go. _I’d rather be humiliated than dead_.

She knew though, that for the rest of her life, Wynonna would never let her live this down.

* * *

“Shorty – how many times have I told you? You need to fix these taps, or someone’s going to end up sopping wet.” Waverly shouted over the music to Shorty, who just waved a hand in acknowledgement. She sighed, knowing full well that those taps weren’t going to be fixed any time soon.

Just then, the door opened, and Waverly glanced up in time to see Doc and Dolls walk in. She smiled at them, and Dolls went to sit down while Doc came over to the bar.

“Hey, little Earp.” He ordered drinks for him and Dolls, and sat down on a bar stool to wait.

“Isn’t Wynonna with you?” She asked, grabbing two glasses and bottles. It was unusual for Doc and Dolls to be together without Wynonna.

“She should be meeting us here. I think she was a bit excited about her new vehicle.” Doc raised his eyebrows at Waverly. “It looks very unstable. I don’t think it’s particularly safe.”

Waverly snorted. “As if Wynonna cares about safety.”

Doc hummed his agreement, and thanked Waverly when she set the drinks down in front of him. He went to join Dolls at a table in the back corner.

Waverly was seeing to another customer when the door opened again. Glancing up out of habit, she was greeted with the sight of Nicole Haught, shaking out her hair as she took off a motorbike helmet. Waverly’s mouth dried up immediately, and though she desperately tried to look away, her eyes were glued to Nicole’s tousled hair and reddened cheeks. Nicole turned around to say something to the person behind her, who turned out to be Wynonna, looking equally as windswept. They laughed about something for a moment, and then Wynonna spotted Waverly at the bar.

The youngest Earp attempted to appear busy, though she knew it was painfully obvious that she’d been staring. She risked a glance up only to see Nicole gazing at her, a sparkle in her gorgeous eyes and a half-smile on her face. Their eyes remained locked for a few, unbelievably long seconds, until Wynonna reached the bar.

“Waves! Me and Haught just went for a ride on my new bike. I don’t like to brag –”

Waverly scoffed, and Wynonna glared at her for a second, before continuing. “– but it’s pretty amazing.”

Wynonna set her helmet down on the bar with a clunk, and leaned over to talk to Waverly quietly. “Oh, and your best friend’s surprisingly cool. But don’t tell her I said that.”

Waverly smiled, genuinely, at her sister. Wynonna, with all of her flaws and issues, was the one person whose opinion mattered to Waverly. The younger sister couldn’t care less what the guy sitting at that table over there thought, or what that woman at the bar thought of her – she only cared about Wynonna’s opinion. And to know that she approved of Nicole, and of her friendship with Waverly… Well, Waverly was overjoyed.

“What are you smiling at, you dork.” Wynonna reached across and gently slapped Waverly’s cheek, effectively ruining the moment. Waverly rolled her eyes but reluctantly laughed. It was just so… _Wynonna_.

Waverly turned around to serve another customer on the other side of the bar, and when she turned back round, Nicole had joined her sister at the bar. She was deep in conversation with Wynonna, and Waverly took the moment to just _look_ at her.

Her red hair was loose, tumbling over her shoulders messily (presumably due to the bike ride). Her hands were moving around as she talked to Wynonna, expressing through movement what she couldn’t through words. Her eyes were locked earnestly onto Wynonna’s, a rare serious expression on her face.

It was strange, admittedly, to see Wynonna getting along so well with Nicole. Waverly had never seen her become friends with another girl, let alone one of _Waverly’s_ friends. Yet here she was – nodding along with Nicole and adding bits to the conversation. There was no boredom on her face, no annoyance, no mockery. It was pure, unadulterated attention and, dare she say it, _affection_?

As if sensing the weight of her gaze, Nicole glanced around. She met Waverly’s eyes for only a moment, but it left Waverly tingling from head to toe, and suddenly becoming very flushed.

A hand touched her elbow, and she whirled around to be face-to-face with Shorty. He looked a little taken aback by her response, and Waverly smiled apologetically at him.

“Waverly, I was just going to say you can have the rest of the night off if you want. It’s pretty slow, and I think me and Gus have it covered.”

“Really?”

Shorty smiled and nodded. Waverly gave him a quick hug, and then dashed out from behind the bar to join Wynonna and Nicole.

“Has your shift ended?” Wynonna asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nicole smiling faintly at her, and she felt a rush of heat again.

Waverly shook her head to clear it of thoughts of _Nicole, Nicole, Nicole!_ and responded to her sister. “Shorty said I could take the rest of the night off.”

An evil grin spread across Wynonna’s face. “You know what this means, don’t you.”

Waverly groaned, and buried her head in her hands in exasperation. “Wynonna, no.”

“What does it mean?” Nicole looked utterly confused, glancing from one Earp sister to the next. They both ignored her as Waverly made the mistake of looking up and making eye contact, invoking an all-out staring/glaring-competition.

When neither answered her, she asked again. “Guys, what does it mean?”

Wynonna finally broke the staring competition to smile mischievously at Nicole. “Karaoke.”

Waverly would have laughed at Nicole’s expression of despair if she was sure that it wasn’t mirrored on her own face.

* * *

“I am so not drunk enough for this.” Nicole grumbled as she was pushed forwards onto the makeshift stage area.

Technically, Shorty’s didn’t even _have_ a karaoke night, but Gus knew to have everything ready for when Wynonna got it into her head to throw an impromptu one. Like right now. An area in front of the bar had been cleared of tables and chairs, and a karaoke machine set up.

Wynonna grinned at Nicole’s reluctance, and Waverly couldn’t help but smirk a little too.

“Come on Haught – don’t tell me you’re self-conscious all of a sudden?” Wynonna teased, earning a glare from Nicole who was now stood awkwardly on the stage area. Waverly chuckled from her seat at the table with Doc and Dolls. Doc was watching the proceedings with interest, as if he’d never seen karaoke before (which Waverly knew was a lie – he was well-known as the best karaoke singer in town), and Dolls was feigning boredom, though the way he was eagerly leaned forwards over the table gave him away.

Wynonna made her way back to their table and sat down, giving a thumbs up to Nicole.

“I hate you.” Nicole muttered good-naturedly into the microphone, causing Wynonna to cackle with laughter while she signalled for the song to start. The opening to a generic pop song came through the speakers, and Waverly saw Nicole roll her eyes before grudgingly opening her mouth to sing.

Wynonna cheered loudly, causing Doc to grin and Dolls to sigh almost imperceptibly. Waverly laughed at her sister’s attempts to embarrass Nicole even further, but then she was distracted.

She was distracted by the way Nicole’s hands fluttered nervously on the microphone. She was distracted by the way her eyes would shut for a long moment at certain points during the song. She was distracted by the way her mouth moved as she sang, and how her lips glistened in the half-light of the bar.

With a jolt, Waverly realised she’d been staring – literally _staring_ – at Nicole for the past couple of minutes. She blinked, trying to snap out of it, but the draw of Nicole was almost irresistible. No matter how hard she tried, Waverly couldn’t help but continuously glance up at the stage to the figure standing there.

The song ended, and Waverly clapped along with everybody else, glancing around the table. Wynonna was still hollering Nicole’s name and a request for an encore, but Doc and Dolls were both looking at her with raised eyebrows.

Waverly blushed, realising she’d been caught staring, but didn’t have time to say anything or explain, as at that moment, Nicole re-joined them.

“Girl, you can sing!” Wynonna praised, slapping the redhead on the back as she sat down.

Nicole scoffed derisively. “Yeah, sure.” She paused, fixing Wynonna with a glare that would have had Waverly running far away if she’d been on the receiving end. “I’m going to get you back for this, you know.”

Wynonna held up her hands defensively. “Oh come on – you hardly made a fool of yourself! Seriously, you can actually sing.” When Nicole continued to pin her with the same murderous look, Wynonna appealed to the rest of the table for help. “Guys? Tell her.”

Doc cleared his throat. “Wynonna is right, Miss Haught. You can indeed sing well.”

Dolls echoed his agreement, and Wynonna turned to Waverly. “Waves?”

Waverly flushed in panic and embarrassment as she remembered that she had _no clue_ whether Nicole could sing or not, as she was a bit preoccupied with staring at her the entire time instead of listening to her. She managed to choke out something that must have resembled a reply, for Wynonna turned back to Nicole triumphantly.

Nicole acquiesced. “Fine, I can carry a tune. But it doesn’t mean I enjoy it.” The way her mouth twitched upwards at the edges and the twinkle in her eyes convinced Waverly that she _had_ enjoyed it, or at least hadn’t hated the experience.

“Sure it does. Anyway, Doc’s up next.”

He sounded the usual protestations, but it wasn’t long before the table had cajoled him up onto the stage. Waverly kept a close eye on Nicole, making sure she wasn’t actually upset, but she joined in with the rest as they cheered and called out to Doc.

Satisfied that Nicole was okay, Waverly glanced at the clock.

_00:57_

_How had time passed so quickly?_ It was nearly one o’clock on a Monday – no, _Tuesday_ – morning, in the middle of a school week with important exams and tests. As soon as Doc had finished the song, Waverly quickly excused herself and prepared to leave, gathering up her coat and belongings. She finished her drink (non-alcoholic thanks to Wynonna taking the role of protective and responsible older sister) and stood up.

Just as she reached the door to Shorty’s, a hand grasped her elbow. She turned around, expecting to see Wynonna and ready with a million reasons why she _really had to go_ , when she was greeted with Nicole’s face instead.

“Waverly – wait a moment? I’ll walk home with you.”

Waverly nodded, and a short while later, the two girls walked out of Shorty’s together. It was freezing, and Waverly could see her and Nicole’s breath clouding in the light of the streetlamps. She glanced up at Nicole and was reminded of how much she’d actually missed her in the two days she hadn’t seen her. She’d _wanted_ to meet up, but through school and dealing with her dad and shifts at Shorty’s, she just hadn’t had time.

Nicole started, still looking ahead at the road and not at Waverly beside her. “So, it’s been a while.”

Waverly tried to detect anger or annoyance in her voice, but couldn’t find any. “Two days Nicole – don’t tell me you’ve missed me that much?”

It was meant as a joke, to lighten the mood a little, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Nicole finally met Waverly’s gaze, and her eyes were soft as she said, “I _have_ missed you. A lot.”

Waverly stopped walking and cleared her throat, trying to sort out her thoughts. Nicole stopped too, and stood facing her, biting her lip as if nervous.

 _But Nicole doesn’t get nervous_ … Waverly managed to say, “I’ve missed you too.”

There was silence for a beat, and then the brunette awkwardly laughed and continued walking. “But, you know, you’re sounding awfully clingy.”

Nicole grinned and punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Shut up. You just admitted you missed me too!”

“Oh please – I had to say that so you weren’t embarrassed at how soppy you sounded.” But Waverly knew she had a huge smile on her face that let Nicole know this was a lie.

They walked in companionable silence for a stretch. Nicole seemed as if she wanted to break it a few times – she kept opening her mouth as if to say something, before obviously thinking better of it and shutting it again. After this happened three times, Waverly sighed. “What is it Nicole?”

Her friend was silent for another long moment before replying. “I called at your house, before. That’s why I came in with Wynonna.”

Waverly felt a tendril of dread pool in her stomach as she guessed where this was going, but she feigned ignorance anyway. “Okay?”

Nicole hesitated, and then looked sideways at Waverly to try and gauge her reaction. “I met your dad.”

 _There it was_. Waverly choked out a small, “Oh.”

Countless friends had been chased away by her father. Their parents didn’t want them spending time in an alcoholic’s house, or with an alcoholic’s daughter who was ‘bound to be a bad influence’. She only had Chrissy and Steph because they had known each other for such a long time, and she had found herself resenting their company more and more recently.

It was Nicole who she wanted to spend time with. It was Nicole who she wanted to watch films and eat popcorn and joke around with. And now her father had scared her off too.

Tears blurred her vision, and she hastily wiped them away, hoping the night was too dark for Nicole to have seen.

A hand grasped her chin, gently forcing her to look up into Nicole’s eyes, wide with concern. “Hey, don’t cry.”

This only made the tears build more and begin to stream down her face in earnest. Nicole placed her hands on the sides of Waverly’s face, wiping her tears away with her thumbs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call first, and I’m sorry that you’re upset with me. I just… I just really wanted to see you.”

Waverly’s head spun. _She thinks I’m crying because I’m upset with her?_ Nicole’s hands remained on her head, her fingers knotting into Waverly’s hair almost unintentionally.

Nicole continued after a slight pause. “I couldn’t help thinking that you didn’t want to be friends anymore. That my sexuality was a problem for you.”

She paused, looking deep into Waverly’s eyes. “Is it?”

Waverly realised she hadn’t responded. She vehemently shook her head, accidently displacing Nicole’s hands in the process. As soon as the contact was severed, Waverly felt cold. She desperately wanted the contact again, only just fully realising how much she’d enjoyed the feeling of Nicole’s fingers in her hair, of her skin against her own.

Nicole took a step back ( _the wrong way!_ ), obviously taking Waverly’s silence as confirmation and the violent head shaking as a ‘get your hands off me’ sort of thing. She went to turn away, but Waverly grabbed her hand at the last moment.

All thoughts flew out of her mind as soon as she touched Nicole again. That small bit of contact was all that she could focus on. Her skin burned where she held Nicole’s hand, but it felt _so good_.

She slowly raised her eyes from their clasped hands to Nicole’s face. Nicole was staring at her, lips parted slightly in surprise. And in that moment, Waverly understood one thing with perfect clarity.

_I want to kiss Nicole Haught._

She didn’t give herself time to second guess herself. Waverly surged forwards and upwards, having to stand on her tiptoes in order to capture Nicole’s lips with her own. Nicole staggered backwards at first, but quickly regained her balance and tilted her face down so Waverly could stand normally again and continue the kiss.

It was like nothing Waverly had ever experienced before. Nicole’s lips were the perfect mix of soft and hard, of giving and taking, of dominance and submission. Waverly reached upwards to twine her hands behind Nicole’s neck, and she felt Nicole’s hands on her waist, pulling her closer.

Their bodies fit together as if they were made for each other. Every part of Waverly that touched Nicole was on fire.

She moved to deepen the kiss, running her tongue across Nicole’s bottom lip to try and part them. She felt Nicole smile against her, breaking the kiss, and Waverly took the opportunity to catch her breath.

“Tongue on the first kiss? You’re eager.”

Still millimetres away from her face, Waverly couldn’t help but longingly glance at Nicole’s lips again, even as she muttered a “Shut up.”

Nicole smiled again – a brilliant smile that caused Waverly’s breath to hitch in her throat – and bent down to softly press her lips to Waverly’s in a gentle, chaste kiss.

When at last they drew apart, they smiled at each other. Nicole took Waverly’s hand and they began to walk again. The fact that she’d just kissed a woman didn’t even occur to Waverly – she knew as soon as their lips had touched that _this_ was who she was meant to be kissing. Not Champ Hardy, but Nicole Haught.

So when Nicole asked, “You okay?” Waverly could truthfully answer.

“Never better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was definitely my favourite chapter to write so far. I really enjoyed the WynHaught brOTP, and of course the kiss...  
> How did you guys like it? This is my first attempt at a longer fanfic, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing most of the time, but I'm enjoying it so...  
> Please comment or leave kudos if you liked it, or if you have any suggestions etc.  
> Thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WayHaught... Just lots of WayHaught... Note: the rating has changed to Mature

“Waves!”

Waverly groaned, flipped over and buried her head deeper into her pillows, grumbling a muffled, “Go away.”

“Waverly! Get up!”

“Wynonna, I’m sleeping.”

Waverly felt the bed dip as her sister sat next to her. She felt Wynonna prod her arm, and swatted at her sister’s hand.

Wynonna cackled gleefully. “Yeah, but I’m awake. And I’m bored. And I’m hungry.” As if to emphasise her point, Wynonna’s stomach growled loudly, causing her to clutch her abdomen.

“Waverly!” She whined exaggeratedly.

“No.”

There was a pause, and Waverly began to hope that Wynonna had left. She had just begun to doze back off to sleep when her sister broke the silence. “Fine. I’ll just get Nicole to get you up.”

Waverly was immediately wide awake. “What? No – no, I’m up. Look, I’m getting up.” She threw off the covers, shivering as the cold air of her bedroom met her legs. Wynonna grabbed her arm (“Ow!”) and dragged her out of bed and down the stairs.

When they reached the kitchen, Wynonna plonked herself down in a kitchen stool and looked at Waverly expectantly. She tilted her head down, looking up and fluttering her eyelashes at Waverly in what she obviously thought was a cute expression. Still shivering in sleep shorts and an oversized top, Waverly rolled her eyes and sighed, walking over to the hob.

“Well, what do you want?”

Wynonna beamed at her and rattled off her breakfast order. She continued to lounge at the kitchen counter as Waverly busied herself with pots and pans.

It had been nearly a week since _the kiss_. It was all Waverly could think of. It invaded every thought, as if the memory of Nicole’s lips against her own had become part of her. The same memory that she’d played over and over in her head since that night.

Because it hadn’t happened since.

Waverly was glad – she really was – that Wynonna had become fast friends with Nicole. It meant a lot to her. But she was finding it exceedingly difficult to be a fan of their newfound friendship when it meant that she and Nicole had had literally _no_ time to themselves anymore. Wynonna insisted on the pair of them meeting up with her and Doc and Dolls every day after class, and on that one occasion that Nicole had come to Waverly’s house, Wynonna had interrupted just as their lips were _millimetres_ away from each other.

It made Waverly want to scream and tear the house down in frustration. She’d been clinging onto every little interaction between her and Nicole as if it were a lifeline – every lingering touch, every longing glance, every secret smile. They’d kept Waverly sane for the past week, but she was nearing breaking point.

She set the food in front of Wynonna, putting it on the counter a little harder than was perhaps necessary. Wynonna raised an eyebrow, but soon got distracted by the plateful of fried foods which she promptly dug into.

Waverly sat next to her and picked the odd bacon rasher off Wynonna’s plate, chewing them grumpily.

“What’s up with you?” Wynonna mumbled through a full mouth, looking at her.

“Nothing.” She paused, glancing at her sister out of the corner of her eye. An idea slowly formed in her mind, and she acted on it, trying to be as casual as possible. “Actually, I was wondering. Me and Nicole have a school… thing… and we kind of need to study for a bit today.”

“Okay? I was going to invite her over for a bit anyway.”

“Yeah, but I think we just need to, you know, get our heads down. Concentrate for a bit… Uninterrupted?”

Wynonna huffs out a long sigh. “So you want Nicole all to yourself? Fine. I’ll go hang with Doc and Dolls for a bit instead.”

Waverly can’t help but smile as her heart began to flutter in anticipation. She _would_ see Nicole again today, and there would be no interruptions.

* * *

Nicole nearly threw her phone in frustration as displayed Wynonna’s caller ID when it began to ring. She really liked Wynonna – she was an amazing friend – but she really didn’t want to meet up with her today. She wanted to meet up with the _other_ Earp.

It worried Nicole that they hadn’t kissed since _that night_. She couldn’t help but wonder if Waverly would change her mind once she’d had some time to think about it, and thanks to Wynonna, they’d each had nothing but time. There had been no opportunity to repeat the kiss, and Nicole was terrified that Waverly had decided that the entire thing had been a mistake, or a bad idea. Not that she'd given any indication that she regretted it, though. 

She knew that if Waverly _had_ decided that, then she’d accept it. It would kill her inside to have experienced what might have been, and to know that it would never happen again, but she’d accept it because that’s what Waverly would want and need.

But she really hoped it didn’t come to that.

Because that first kiss had been the best kiss of her life.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of thoughts of Waverly and her lips, and answered the phone. “Hey.”

“Hey Nicole. Look, I know you’ve got this school project thing with Waverly –”

Nicole blinked, but murmured a noise of confirmation anyway.

“– but if want, you can still come to Doc’s with me and Dolls, and we could drag Waves along. It’ll be fun.”

Nicole’s mind was whirling. _What school project?_ But she quickly caught on to Waverly’s plan, and it filled her with happiness that Waverly had done something to ensure they got some time together. Alone.

So she quickly replied to Wynonna, not wanting to blow the opportunity. “No, no, it’s okay. We really need to get going on the… on the, erm, the project. We’re pretty far behind.”

“Okay, if you insist. But, you know, it wounds me that you prefer Waverly’s company over my own.”

A laugh escaped Nicole’s mouth, but she managed to quickly turn it into a semi-convincing cough. They exchanged goodbyes, and Nicole lay back on her bed, a huge smile on her face.

She was a mess of emotions, all because of one Waverly Earp, but she wouldn’t dream of having it any other way.

* * *

The doorbell rang. Before the sound had even stopped, Waverly was tearing down the stairs and yelling, “I’ve got it!”

Willa came out of the kitchen just as Waverly reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, hey Willa.” Waverly was never quite sure how to speak to her eldest sister. Their age difference was such that they were never close as children, and then Willa had grown up and left to go to Europe for years. She’d only come back a few weeks ago, and Waverly still hadn’t gotten used to having her around.

“Waverly.” Willa said with a nod in her direction, before disappearing up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Waverly managed to push Willa from her thoughts as she finally pulled open the door. Nicole was standing there, leaning against the door frame, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans.

She felt her entire face light up in a smile, and had subconsciously stepped closer to Nicole. The other girl was leaning down slightly, ready to meet Waverly’s lips with her own. Waverly closed her eyes, readying herself for the kiss she’d waited _so long_ for.

“Nicole!”

Waverly groaned almost imperceptibly and leant back. Nicole straightened up, though Waverly could see that her expression mirrored her own.

She plastered a smile on her face to replace the scowl, and turned around to face Wynonna. “I thought you’d gone to Doc’s?”

Wynonna pulled a face. “Jeez, Waves, way to make me feel wanted. No, I’m just on my way over now.” She paused, smiling at Nicole. “Offer’s still open, Haught. You can stay here with Waverly, doing stupid school work, or come and have some fun with me.”

Waverly could see Nicole was fighting a grin as she said, “I think I’ll stay here. Take my chances with boring school work.”

“Okay, your choice. Give us a ring when you get tired of Waves.” She winked at her sister, pulled on her favourite leather jacket – the one with the tassels – and walked out the door, throwing a wave over her shoulder as she walked away.

Waverly fought against the immediate urge to throw herself at Nicole, waiting until Wynonna had turned the street corner on her ridiculous motorcycle. Eventually, after the roar of the engine had died down into nothingness, Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hands (noting the way the contact seemed to _burn_ ) and dragged her upstairs.

Her heart was thumping wildly. Doubts began to run rampant through her mind. _What if I’m not a good kisser? What if I do something wrong? What if she decides that she doesn’t want to be with me?_

Waverly had never been with another girl before. She’d hardly been with guys before – there was Champ, and a few minor boyfriends in her earlier teens, but that was it. Suddenly, the inexperience seemed to matter.

A lot.

They reached Waverly’s bedroom, Nicole still following, her hand grasped in Waverly’s. As soon as they’d both entered, Waverly dropped Nicole’s hand and moved to the middle of the room. She wouldn’t turn around, sure that when she faced Nicole, she’d show how overwhelmed she truly was.

She heard Nicole shut the door and sensed her hovering uncertainly, not moving any closer to where the youngest Earp was stood, hands clenched and eyes screwed shut.

Waverly was terrified.

But when Nicole whispered her name, that terror was gone. Three syllables, uttered with the sweetest softness – that’s all it took, and Waverly wasn’t scared anymore.

She spun round, closing the distance between her and Nicole in two strides. She reached up to grab Nicole by the back of the neck, drawing her down. Nicole’s fingers were under her chin in seconds, tilting her head up so to get better access to her mouth.

When their lips met, it was like the first time all over again. Waverly couldn’t help but marvel at how soft Nicole’s lips were, or how perfectly they fit together. It was just as sweet, just as innocent, as their first kiss.

Until the desperation set in.

All of that frustration that had been building up for almost a week just exploded out of Waverly. She _needed_ Nicole, and she needed her now. This chaste kiss wasn’t enough.

She pressed Nicole towards the bed, pushing her down when Nicole’s knees hit the mattress. As she fell, Nicole looked at her with an awed expression on her face. Waverly went to straddle her, their chests pressing together with every frantic breathe.

Just before sealing their lips together again, Waverly murmured, “What are you grinning at?”

“I just can’t believe this is happening.”

“Yeah? Why?” She bent down to kiss along Nicole’s jaw.

“Because you’re so – _oh_ ”

Waverly smiled against Nicole’s neck, pleased that she’d made Nicole gasp with pleasure. She continued to kiss and nip along Nicole’s skin, making her way down towards the collarbone.

“I’m so..?”

“You’re just so amazing.”

That made Waverly pause. Nicole raised herself slightly up onto her elbows to look at her, and Waverly couldn’t help but feel her heart swell for this girl lay on her bed, cheeks flushed and hair mussed up. She moved back up, her hands on either side of Nicole’s head, and hovered there. A lock of her hair dropped from behind her ear and tickled Nicole’s cheek, causing the other girl to reach up and push it behind her ear again.

Waverly smiled down at her softly. “You’re pretty amazing too.”

Without waiting for a response, she lowered herself and kissed her again. This time, lay along the length of Nicole’s body, the kiss was a little less innocent. As their lips moved together, Waverly found herself grinding slightly on Nicole’s hips, their legs twining together as they moved. One of Nicole’s hands was in her hair, the other was at the small of her back, where Waverly’s top had ridden up slightly.

Waverly could feel Nicole’s fingers against that tiny bit of exposed skin, and she needed _more_. She needed to feel Nicole’s hands on her body, exploring every inch, and she needed to do the same to Nicole.

She sat back suddenly, breaking away from the kiss and causing Nicole to huff in surprise. Without breaking eye contact, Waverly grasped the bottom of her shirt to pull it over her head. She stopped, though, when Nicole’s fingers lightly touched her own.

Confused, Waverly frowned. _Doesn’t she want me to take my top off? What if I’m not attractive enough for –_

Her doubts vanished the moment Nicole’s lips twitched up into a half-smirk. Waverly let her hands drop, and jolted when she felt Nicole’s fingers beneath her top. They traced circles on her stomach, burning their path into her skin, before dipping lower, lower, _lower…_

Waverly gasped as Nicole’s fingers glided beneath her underwear for the _shortest fraction_ of a second before coming back up. She grabbed the bottom of Waverly’s shirt and pulled it smoothly over her head, discarding it straight away to the corner of the room.

For a moment, Nicole just looked at her. Waverly could feel those brown eyes on her bare stomach, on her breasts, on her arms. But it wasn’t like how Champ used to look at her. He used to look at her hungrily, as if she was a piece of meat waiting to be devoured. The way Nicole was looking at her now couldn’t be more different. It was such a soft gaze, so full of reverence and adoration.

For once, Waverly felt cherished by someone who wasn’t Wynonna.

She _mattered_ to somebody else. The thought sent a tingle through her. _Here_ , right in front (well… below) her, was someone who cared. Here was someone who had no obligations at all to her, but treasured her anyway.

“What are you thinking right now?” Nicole’s voice caressed the silence of the bedroom. She’d moved her gaze up to meet Waverly’s eyes, and was looking intently into them, as if she could find the answer to her question there if she searched hard enough.

“I’m thinking about how beautiful you look.” Waverly smiled at her, and Nicole chuckled at the compliment. Waverly continued. “I’m thinking about how my heart stopped when I opened the door today, because you looked so drop-dead gorgeous.” She paused, smiling as she positioned herself over Nicole again, their faces inches away from each other. She lowered her voice. “I’m thinking about how you’re looking a bit hot in that top, and how you’d be more comfortable without it on.” Nicole’s eyes widened as Waverly slid her hand underneath the shirt to stroke the skin there. So quietly that it was almost imperceptible, Waverly added, “I’m thinking about how uncomfortable these jeans are, and how I think I want some help to take them off.”

Nicole’s voice was unbelievably soft when she replied, “Oh, I’m sure I can find some way to assist.”

Waverly giggled as Nicole grabbed her hip and flipped them over, so that she was lay on the bed with Nicole on top of her. The redhead bent down quickly for a hard kiss before sitting back up and tossing off her shirt.

Waverly’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at Nicole. The muscles in Nicole’s toned stomach shifted as she worked the button and zip on her jeans, and Waverly became fully aware of just how aroused she was. Nicole started to wiggle her way out of her tight jeans, cursing them under her breath, and Waverly would have laughed if it had been in any other situation, with any other person – Nicole _did_ look ridiculous. But Waverly had never been more turned on in her life, and every little thing that Nicole did just made her want her more.

When Nicole finally chucked the jeans away, she repositioned herself over Waverly. She planted a soft kiss on her jaw, and then made her way down to Waverly’s collarbone, then down to the valley between Waverly’s breasts. Pressing a lingering kiss there, Nicole glanced up with a satisfied smile when Waverly's body jolted in response, before returning her journey down Waverly’s body.

She reached the waistband of Waverly’s jeans, and glanced up. Waverly quickly nodded her permission, but Nicole hesitated.

“Look, Waverly, we don’t have to do anything you’re not completely comfortable with.”

Waverly began to protest, but Nicole silenced her with a look. “No, I mean it. We move at whatever pace you set, okay?”

It meant more to Waverly than Nicole probably realised, that somebody cared enough to put _her_ needs and desires before their own. But she was sure that she wanted this, and she definitely wanted it now.

So when, Nicole raised her eyebrows to prompt a response, Waverly replied, “Just take my pants off.”

Nicole grinned at her, chuckling slightly and muttering a “Bossy, much?” under her breath, but quickly got to work with the button on Waverly’s jeans. She pulled them down from Waverly’s hips with sure hands, and Waverly’s stomach began to swoop in anticipation.

The _best_ kind of anticipation, though.

Nicole raised herself to meet Waverly’s lips in a bruising kiss, while her fingers worked beneath Waverly’s underwear.

She’d gasped when Nicole’s fingers had first brushed against her, but had instantly wanted, no _needed_ , more. She’d never known how sensitive she was to every little touch, every tiny sensation. It was so intimate, so special.

She moaned into Nicole’s mouth as she felt deft fingers circle and then enter her. Her whole body was on fire and every cell seemed to be saturated with the feeling of _Nicole_. She instantly fell into a rhythm with her, as if they were made for this. They seemed to fit seamlessly together, and soon Waverly was close to her climax.

Nicole seemed to sense it too, for her fingers sped up, and then curled slightly. _That_ was what sent Waverly toppling over the edge. She fell into the sweetest oblivion for a few seconds, and then came back to see Nicole smiling at her softly.

The redhead removed her hand from between Waverly’s legs and collapsed on the bed beside Waverly, who immediately curled into her. She flung a leg over Nicole’s, effectively trapping her, and curled her arm around her shoulders.

Waverly had never experienced anything like that before. Nothing, _nothing,_ had ever come close to what Nicole had just made her feel. And maybe it was because of the fact that with Nicole, it wasn’t _just_ about the sex. Whatever the reason, Waverly knew she wanted to make Nicole feel as special as she did right now. 

But she was worried, because she didn’t know how.

But she knew she wanted to try.

So once she’d come down slightly from the high she’d been on, Waverly positioned herself over Nicole, much like before. Nicole's brown eyes widened. They were full of care, but under that lay desire. _Desire for me_ , Waverly realised with a start.

“Waverly, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know. I want to.”

Nicole gulped and kissed her softly. Waverly slowly pulled back and met Nicole’s searing gaze.

 “Teach me.”

* * *

Waverly’s not quite sure _how_ , but somehow they fall asleep. All she knows is that she can hear Wynonna coming up the stairs, and that she’s completely naked in her bed, intertwined with Nicole who is, incidentally, also naked.

“Shit. Shit, Nicole, wake up.”

“What? What’s going on?” Nicole looked up at her groggily as Waverly jumped out of bed, running across the room to search for her jeans. It was so endearing, the way that Nicole’s eyes fluttered as she fought to keep them open and the way she tried so hard to stifle yawn after yawn, but Waverly didn’t have time to appreciate the moment.

“Wynonna’s coming up. Now.”

“ _Shit_.” Nicole was suddenly out of bed too, flinging her top over her head, not even bothering with a bra ( _when did she even take her bra off?_ ). Waverly heard Wynonna reach the top of the stairs, and she awkwardly hopped over to the door, one leg in her jeans and the other one stuck halfway. She fell against the door just as Wynonna attempted to open it.

“Waverly! Open up!”

“Erm, just a minute!”

Nicole frantically finished the button on her own jeans and began shoving undergarments out of sight.

“Why won’t you let me in?”

Waverly could feel the door push against her as Wynonna attempted to come in, but she braced herself and leant back to keep it shut. Eventually, her foot became unstuck and she quickly pulled her jeans up, cursing them for being so tight. She glanced to Nicole, who nodded at her. Taking a deep breathe, she stepped away from the door.

It opened quickly and Wynonna stepped through, a suspicious look on her face. “What have you guys been doing?” She looked pointedly around the room, eyebrows raised.

Waverly felt herself blush furiously, while she could see Nicole searching for a viable excuse. She jumped in, trying to save the situation. “I told you, Wynonna, we were doing the school project.”

“Umhmm, and what exactly is this school project?”

A beat of silence, and then Nicole spoke. “It’s a secret.”

Wynonna crinkled her eyes in confusion and looked from Nicole to Waverly, and back to Nicole again.

The youngest Earp chimed in, “Yeah. It’s a secret. That’s the whole point. We can’t tell anyone what it is or else the investigation will be ruined.”

“So it’s like a science experiment or some shit like that?”

Nicole nodded, and Waverly quickly said “Yes. Exactly that.”

“And it explains why you’ve got your top on inside out?”

Nicole looked down at herself in alarm and went scarlet in embarrassment. Again, Waverly would have found the moment adorable if she hadn’t been in such a state of panic.

Apparently Wynonna seemed to let it go, for she shrugged and moved on. “I just came up to say that you missed out today. Next time, Nicole, you should come with us.” Nicole mustered a smile in response, and Wynonna carried on. “You don’t even have to bring Waverly if she’s been annoying you.” But the grin and wink that her sister sent her way let Waverly know that she was joking.

After Wynonna shut the door behind her, Waverly went to sit down on the bed, still warm from their body heat. Nicole waited a second before sitting down next to her, their shoulders touching.

Waverly reached out a hand and grasped Nicole’s, looking down at their linked fingers. There was silence between them, but it wasn’t awkward. It was the sort of comfortable silence that you had with someone who’d just seen and worshipped every inch of your body.

Nicole spoke first. “Do you think she suspected anything?”

Waverly snorted. “I doubt it. Wynonna can be pretty oblivious to things happening right in front of her.”

Another minute passed. Their fingers were still tightly linked, as if neither could stand the thought of being separated from the other.

Nicole seemed to be on the verge of saying something a few times, but then it was as if she thought better of it and decided not to speak. After this happened three times, Waverly asked, “What is it?”

Silence. Then, “Do you think you’d _want_ her to know? Not now –” she hurried to add, “but sometime in the future?”

Waverly barely needed to consider the question. “Of course.”

Nicole raised her eyes from their connected hands to meet Waverly’s gaze.

“Nicole, I’m proud to be your…” she trailed off, realising they hadn’t specified what exactly they were yet.

Nicole picked up on the issue, for she smirked at Waverly and asked, “My what?”

Waverly blushed. “Well, are we girlfriends?”

“I don’t know, are we?”

Waverly glared at Nicole, who just grinned back at her before seriously asking, “Waverly Earp, would you like to be my girlfriend?”

“It would be an honour.” She smiled before pressing a kiss to Nicole’s lips.

When they broke apart, Waverly carried on with her earlier point. “Yeah, so I’m proud to be your girlfriend. I want people to know that we’re together. It’s just… Everything’s happened so _quickly_ , and I think I need time to process it all.” She paused, before summarising. “So yes – I am definitely going to tell Wynonna about us. And it’s not that I’m unsure about this relationship or ashamed about you or _anything_ like that – I’m just waiting until things, until _I,_ have calmed down a bit.”

Nicole raised their hands to her mouth and kissed Waverly’s knuckles.

And Waverly felt a surge of _something_ for Nicole. Something strong, something pure, something almost instinctual.

It was more innocent than desire.

It was more overwhelming than affection.

It was more complex, yet more simplistic, than basic devotion.

Though Waverly didn’t realise it yet (or perhaps she just wasn’t willing to admit it), what she was feeling seemed a whole lot like love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay, but hopefully the sheer amount of WayHaught in here makes up for it.  
> Like I've said, comments and kudos make me soooooo happy, and feel free to find me on tumblr (gaggleofunicorns) to talk to me about this story or just have a chat.  
> Thank you for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly have their first date.

Nicole checked her reflection in the mirror for the twentieth time. She nervously tucked her shirt into her jeans, then untucked, and then tucked it in on her hip. Undecided, she pulled it free and yelled downstairs, “Mum!”

“Yes?”

“Come here for a minute!”

She heard her mother sigh and begin to trudge up the stairs. Still staring at her reflection, she didn’t look up as her mum came into her room.

“Do I look okay?”

She caught sight of her mother’s expression in the mirror. Amusement, love and pride all flitted across her face. “You look lovely.”

“Not too dressy?”

“No.”

“But not too casual?”

“Nicole, you’re perfect. Honestly.”

Though still unsure, and not entirely trusting her mother’s claims ( _she’s my mum – she has to say these things_ ), she turned around to face her.

“Okay, thanks.”

Her mum checked her watch. “Right, you’ve got about thirty minutes before she gets here. You need to get chicken prepped, the vegetables chopped, the –”

Nicole cut her off before she made her any more nervous. “Mum, I know. I’ve made pasta before; it’s not hard.”

Her mother gave her a look that Nicole couldn’t quite decipher. “You know, I can still make you two dinner if you want and you can pretend that you did it all. You don’t actually _have_ to do it all.”

Nicole rolled her eyes and huffed. “No, you are going to go to Shorty’s and enjoy your night off by making new friends. I am going to cook a beautiful meal for me and –”

Just then, the doorbell sounded. Nicole’s heart started hammering. “You said thirty minutes!”

Her mother just smiled and walked out of the room, throwing over her shoulder, “She must be early, I guess.”

Nicole checked her reflection one last time and then hurried out of the room. She reached the front door just as her mother did, and was treated to a smug “Enjoy your date, sweetie.”

Her protestations of _“Not a date”_ were cut short as her mother opened the door to reveal a breathtakingly beautiful Waverly Earp.

Her mother smiled, pulled a confused Waverly into a tight hug, and said, “Oh, you look lovely dear.”

“Thank you?”

“I’m leaving you two alone now, but if you need anything, I’m five minutes away. Okay?”

“Okay, mum.” Nicole muttered, desperate to have her mother out of the house so she could have some privacy with Waverly.

When the door finally shut, Nicole turned to Waverly. “Hey.”

Waverly smiled shyly. A smile that sent shivers down Nicole’s spine. A smile that made the room spin around her. A smile that Nicole had fallen in love with. “Hey.”

“You look beautiful.” Nicole didn’t remember telling herself to speak, but the words nonetheless slipped out of her mouth.

Waverly blushed ( _God, she even blushes prettily_ ) and replied, “You don’t look too bad yourself.” She smiled at Nicole, and stepped forward to press a light kiss to her lips.

The casualness of the act took Nicole’s breath away, and as Waverly stepped back, she longed to pull her close and kiss her for a lifetime. She settled for kissing her for another minute, before her stomach reminded her that they needed to eat.

Reluctantly, Nicole broke away, noting with satisfaction the disappointed pout that Waverly was giving her. She chuckled and grabbed Waverly’s hand, dragging her towards the kitchen. “Come on, I’ve got to cook us some dinner.”

“Ooh, what are we having?”

Nicole sat her at the kitchen table, and began to pull food out of the fridge. “Pasta.” She paused, suddenly worried as a thought hit her. “You like pasta, right?” _Who doesn’t like pasta?_

Waverly shot her a reassuring smile from where she rested her chin on her hands at the table. “Yeah, of course. I mean, who doesn’t like pasta?”

Nicole laughed nervously. “So, I think I remember how to do this…” She looked a bit helplessly at the pile of vegetables in front of her. _I should have taken mum up on the offer to cook dinner…_ The thing was; Nicole _knew_ she wasn’t a great cook. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she passed as an adept cook. But she’d wanted so badly to make a big romantic gesture, and cooking dinner for Waverly seemed to fit that quota.

Now it didn’t seem like such a good idea.

* * *

Waverly watched Nicole lift a knife, put it to an onion, then think better of it and put the knife back down again. She fought to keep her face straight, torn between getting up to help her girlfriend and watching her struggle.

In the end, her better half won out and she stood up, moving behind Nicole and holding her waist. She put her chin on Nicole’s shoulder and asked, “Need a hand?”

Nicole straightened. “Nope. I’m fine. Got it all under control.”

Waverly grinned, and planted a kiss to Nicole’s neck, just under her jaw. “I’m glad to hear it. God, I’m starving.”

She waited for Nicole’s resolve to break. _Any minute now_ , she thought, as Nicole started shifting on her feet. _Any minute now…_

“Actually, you can be chopping the onions and peppers. If you want.”

Waverly chuckled, causing Nicole to twist her head and capture her lips with a searing kiss. When they broke away from each other, Waverly moved from behind Nicole to start chopping food up. Within minutes, the onions and peppers and chillies were all chopped.

She glanced up to find Nicole staring at her.

“What?” Waverly asked, worried that she’d done something wrong.

Nicole shook her head slightly and looked away, as if she’d just been caught doing something she shouldn’t. “Nothing.”

“What?” Waverly insisted.

Her girlfriend hesitated, her cheeks staining pink as she blushed. She finally turned to look Waverly in the eye. “I’m not really sure what I’m doing with this meal.”

Waverly snorted. “Yeah, I’d gathered that.”

“You did?” Relief – and embarrassment – flooded Nicole’s voice.

Waverly but her lip to keep from laughing out loud, wondering how on earth her girlfriend was this adorable. She gently moved Nicole away from where she was stood uselessly at the stove, and sat her down on a chair. “I’ll do the food, you can watch.”

As she turned away to get cooking, Nicole grabbed her wrist at the last minute and pulled her down for a quick, simple peck on the lips. But as they broke apart, Waverly decided it wasn’t _quite_ enough, and leant back in for a more passionate kiss, hard and unyielding but _so good._

This time, when they separated, both were slightly out of breath and flustered. Waverly looked into Nicole’s rich brown eyes, sparkling with delight. A small thrill went through Waverly as she realised it was _her_ who’d made Nicole look so happy, so content and at peace. Smiling slightly, she started to make their dinner. After a moment, she heard Nicole stand up and cross the room behind her.

Then, the music started.

It was the same generic pop song that Nicole had sung _that night_ at karaoke. The memories of the kiss that followed still made Waverly glow inside. Never before had she such an untarnished, pure memory, full of genuine happiness.

She felt Nicole’s hands grasp her waist, and then her body pressed against Waverly’s back. She seemed to envelope the Earp girl, and then began to sway to the music. _Completely out of time to the beat,_ Waverly noticed, though that seemed to make it even more endearing.

Waverly giggled as a lock of Nicole’s auburn hair tickled her collarbone, and Nicole went to move it. She hooked the curl behind a finger and dragged the digit across Waverly’s skin, trailing a burning path over her collarbone. Waverly’s laughter died in her throat, and a heat seemed to flood her body.

She felt, rather than saw, Nicole smirk, and understood that the redhead knew _exactly_ the effect her actions were having on Waverly.

Waverly murmured, “If you don’t stop distracting me, we’re not going to eat anything.”

“Oh, I think we’ll find something to –”

“No! Don’t say it.” Waverly warned, blushing furiously even as her body seemed to grow even hotter.

Nicole huffed a laugh against Waverly’s neck, and then suddenly stepped away. Waverly instantly craved the contact, but held in the whine that threatened to escape as Nicole’s warmth slipped away.

“Thank you.” She said, refusing to look up at Nicole for fear of losing all semblance of self-control.

“You’re very welcome.” Nicole said, voice low and sultry.

_Shit._ Waverly glanced at the food, deciding it could be left unattended for a few minutes. In moments, she had spun around and closed the distance between her and Nicole. Their lips crashed together, and Waverly’s momentum pushed Nicole up against the kitchen wall.

Waverly took full advantage, and continued to passionately kiss Nicole. One hand tangled itself in Nicole’s hair, and the other slipped beneath her top. Waverly broke the kiss long enough to raise her eyebrows questioningly at Nicole, who nodded her permission immediately. Waverly then expertly unhooked Nicole’s bra, and began to caress a breast.

Nicole groaned, deep and throaty, into Waverly’s mouth, causing a throb between Waverly’s legs. Nicole suddenly pushed away from the wall, twisted, and pinned Waverly against it, effectively trading positions.

She grinned evilly as she pinned Waverly’s hands to the wall above her head with one hand, while the other crept lower on Waverly’s abdomen. The brunette, desperately needing the attention to be between her legs, arched off the wall as much as she could, trying to get the contact to her core.

“Now now, Waves, be patient.” Nicole whispered in her ear, causing Waverly to growl in frustration. _She won’t be this smug when she’s crying my name in a few minutes_.

The thought triggered another throb of heat at her core, with it becoming impossible to ignore. “Nicole,” she warned between kisses, “you’d better start doing something with that hand.”

“Oh, I plan to.”

Waverly almost cried out as Nicole touched her, exactly where she needed to be touched. It was almost embarrassing how sensitive she was to Nicole, as if every single touch was burning hot and freezing cold at the same time. It made her feel weak, it made her feel strong, it made her feel _everything._

“Remember, tell me to stop any–”

Waverly cut her off mid-sentence with another kiss, giving Nicole the answer that she needed as her hand finally slipped beneath her underwear. Waverly’s entire world shuddered to a halt as nimble fingers expertly circled her. _Any second now_ … The anticipation was too much to bear. She _needed_ Nicole’s fingers inside of her. Now. Nicole seemed to realise her desperation, for she shifted slightly to give herself better access.

Just as the smoke alarm went off.

Both women jumped violently, their hearts thumping as one. Waverly watched as Nicole hurried to the smoke detector and turned it off, before gingerly prodding the pasta sauce with a wooden spoon.

“Waverly?” Nicole asked tentatively.

“Yes?” _Get back over here now, or I swear to God –_

“I think we burnt the sauce.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the wall to inspect the food herself. As she crossed the room, she scoffed, “You can’t burn sauce.”

She reached the saucepan. There was an acrid smell coming from it, overpowering the tomato-and-pepper aroma, and large chunks of black… stuff… was floating in it from where it had been scraped from the bottom.

“Crap. We burned the sauce.”

* * *

Three hours, two pizzas, and nearly four episodes of ‘Orange is the New Black’ later, Nicole and Waverly were cuddled on the couch. They had started the evening with lots of kissing and very little television watching, but as the hours passed, Nicole had grown more and more sleepy.

She was currently snoring softly, her arm curled around Waverly’s head, and hand still caught in her hair, as she’d fallen asleep while lightly stroking Waverly’s brown curls. Waverly’s head was resting on Nicole’s stomach, almost perpendicular to the other girl.

A particularly loud noise on the television caused Nicole to stir slightly in her sleep, and Waverly quickly turned it off. She closed her eyes, listening to Nicole’s breathing and trying to time her own to get it in sync. The slight rise and fall of Nicole’s torso lulled her to a half-awake, half-asleep state.

She couldn’t recall a time she’d felt so happy.

She couldn’t recall a time she’d felt so safe.

As if through a fog, Waverly heard the front door to the house open and close. Nicole’s mother appeared in the doorway of the living room a moment later, and paused to look at them.

She smiled at Waverly as the younger woman blearily lifted her head and beamed, aware of how happy she was even if she knew nothing else at this moment in time. Deciding that holding her head up was too much of an effort, Waverly lay it back down on Nicole, causing her girlfriend to shift slightly and draw her even closer in her sleep.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two women asleep on the sofa, Karen Haught pulled out her phone and carefully took a picture of the scene.

Her daughter, carefully cradling Waverly Earp as if she was a precious gem, to be protected at all costs.

And Waverly, holding tightly onto her daughter as if she would never let go.

She had a feeling they’d want to remember it.

* * *

The first thing Nicole noticed when she awoke was a feeling of pure content. And then the pain.

_God_ , her neck hurt. Probably because it wasn't meant to be in such an awkward position for so long, but she'd been so tired, and she can't have been sleeping for _that_ long...

Slowly, she took in the darkened room, the slight glow of the streetlights outside as they lit up the night sky. The realisation sunk in - she _had_ been asleep for that long.

And she'd ruined the date.

Her first real date with Waverly, and she'd fallen asleep. Humiliation and horror battled each other, and her neck was really becoming hard to ignore. She looked down at Waverly, using her stomach as a pillow while she slept. She looked so peaceful, yet she still seemed to emit a sort of vibrant energy, the same one that was so prominent in her eyes when she was awake.

Nicole ran her fingers through her girlfriend's hair, absently wondering how pissed Waverly would be with her. Her neck seemed to throb with renewed vigour, and Nicole winced.

She _had_ to move, get her neck straightened out, but how to do it without waking Waverly? Slowly, gently, she shifted in minuscule movements, rolling her neck as she did so. Hardly daring to breathe, she eased the pressure in her neck.

It still hurt like hell, but it was so much better.

She exhaled a quiet sigh of relief, cut short when Waverly lifted her head, eyes still half-shut. Nicole was struck again by how effortlessly beautiful her girlfriend was – how her kindness and gentility seemed to shine out from within and brighten everything in the surrounding area.

“Nicole?”

Nicole’s heart twisted in delight. The sound of her name on Waverly’s lips, her voice heavy with sleep… It was an amazing moment.

“Yeah, babe?” The term of endearment slipped out without her permission, but hopefully Waverly was still too sleepy to remember later on.

“What’s going on?” Waverly’s half-shut eyes were crinkled in confusion.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.” She started stroking Waverly’s hair off her face again, with the lightest of touches, and her girlfriend settled back down.

Not two minutes later, she sat back up again. “But I’m cold,” she whined, almost petulantly. Nicole grinned, looking forward to being able to remind Waverly of this in the days to come.

“Come on, we can get under the covers in my bed.” Waverly nodded, and hauled herself off Nicole, who also stood up.

The movement had seemed to wake Waverly up slightly, and she muttered, “Bit presumptuous,” causing Nicole to chuckle.

“You _did_ just fall asleep on me, Waves – I think I can be as presumptuous as I like.”

Waverly just reached out and grasped her hand, beaming at Nicole with a big dopey smile and allowing the redhead to lead her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Nicole turned on the lamp beside her bed, causing the room to fill with a soft glow. It made everything feel much more intimate, much more personal.

She cast an eye over Waverly, stood unmoving beside her. _Has she fallen asleep standing up? Surely not…_

Gently, so as not to startle her if she _was_ asleep, Nicole pulled Waverly towards the bed. She quickly discarded her own jeans, throwing them across the room. She pulled out a baggy t-shirt from her wardrobe and put it on instead of her uncomfortable bra and top.

Waverly still hadn’t moved from the edge of the bed. Nicole smiled at her in adoration, before moving to crouch in front of her.

“Waves?”

“Mm hmm?”

“Do you want me to take your jeans off?”

“Yes please.” And then, as if it was an afterthought, “I’ll help.”

Nicole laughed quietly, eager not to ruin the peaceful, sleepy atmosphere of the room by making too much noise.

She eased Waverly’s jeans off her hips, and then turned to root around in her cupboards. When she turned back around to face Waverly, with a t-shirt and pair of shorts in her hand, she was greeted by the most precious sight. Waverly, obviously impatient to go back to sleep, had burrowed her way under the bed covers, and was currently snoring with her face pressed up against the pillows.

“Guess you’re having that side of the bed then.” Nicole murmured, thinking Waverly was asleep.

The grunt she got in response disproved that theory, and Nicole rolled her eyes before climbing in beside her girlfriend. 

She stayed silent for a moment, before whispering to Waverly, "I'm sorry I ruined our date by falling asleep."

Waverly didn't reply for several seconds, making Nicole think she was truly asleep this time, before her response broke the silence of the room. "You didn't ruin anything. It was perfect.  _You_ were perfect."

Fumbling hands found each other in the middle of the bed, and held on tightly.

After laying stock still for several more minutes, desperate not to disturb Waverly too much, she finally built up the courage to turn on her side and stretch out slightly.

Her feet tangled with Waverly’s, causing the Earp to turn towards her and reach out blindly. She pulled Nicole so that their noses were almost touching, and then left her arm draped across Nicole’s shoulder. Somehow, it was the most relaxed Nicole had ever been. Despite the logistics of the situation – this position _really_ shouldn’t be as comfortable as it was – she found herself dozing off to sleep.

She had the most amazing dream. The details were hazy, but she remembered feeling utter happiness and joy.

It was still pale in comparison to her reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the long wait. Homework, homework, college, homework... It's been hectic.  
> But it's here now, so what did you guys think? I'm thinking of tying up the story soon - I seem to have made the mistake of not really having much of a plot, so the story won't naturally end (it'll just continue forever in a cycle of short chapters and feeble excuses for the weeks between updates...)  
> So I'm thinking maybe two more chapters - I'll properly plan it out and edit the chapter number thing when I've decided.   
> Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for reading and sticking with it. Kudos and comments are always lovely (and feel free to put forward any prompts or ideas in the comment section, or you can always find me on tumblr: gaggleofunicorns)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna, Waverly and Nicole go for a walk through the park. Cue the awkwardness.

“Waverly! Nicole!”

Waverly startled awake. Her head was buried into Nicole’s neck, and sometime during the night her entire lower body had ended up on top of Nicole’s. Their bodies were moulded together. _As if we were made for each other_ , Waverly thought while breathing in the smell of Nicole’s skin, _however cliché that may sound._

Temporarily having forgotten the reason she’d woken up in the first place, Waverly continued to lie there, basking in the presence of Nicole. Her head was inclined slightly towards Waverly, who studied her while she slept.

 _This isn’t creepy_ , she insisted to herself. _It’s what happens in all of the romance books I read_. Nicole’s lips were parted slightly, and Waverly felt a rush of desire as she imagined all the things those lips could do, everywhere they’d touched on Waverly’s body…

There was a loud, insistent knocking on the door, immediately followed by, “I’m coming in!”

“Wynonna?” Waverly wondered out loud, just as the door opened to reveal it was indeed her sister who’d disturbed the peace and quiet. She hurried to scramble off Nicole, who was slowly waking up. If her sister hadn’t been stood right there, Waverly would have kissed her girlfriend for how cute she looked when she was rubbing her eyes blearily.

As it was, she had to be content with watching Nicole for a few more seconds. _How can she look this perfect as soon as she’s woken up?_ With a rush of horror, Waverly realised she probably had an awful case of bed hair, and immediately went to try and smooth it down.

“Gee Waves, you need a lesson on the concept of _personal space_.” Wynonna scolded, pointedly looking at the non-existent gap between her and Nicole.

Nicole subtly shifted away from Waverly to ease the awkwardness of the situation somewhat. Waverly’s heart swelled with appreciation, but she couldn’t help but wish that Nicole _didn’t_ have to move – that they could have stayed cuddled up all day, even in front of her sister.

 _Especially_ in front of her sister.

But this was not the time or the place for such a conversation – not when Wynonna was in one of _those_ moods. The sort of mood that constantly got her thrown out of lessons, or made her go on one of her weekend-long road trips with Dolls.

Waverly knew that her sister was filled with a restless energy, a need to do _something_. So she merely rolled her eyes and asked, “What is it?”

“Hmm?” Wynonna had been too busy looking out of the window to follow the conversation. It was a beautiful day – all blue skies and suns shining and birds tweeting.

Waverly elaborated. “Why are you waking us up at this ungodly hour?”

Wynonna scoffed, and even Nicole smiled slightly. “Waves, it’s nearly eleven o’clock.” Her sister wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “What were _you_ two doing last night, eh?”

She chuckled to herself, gazing back outside window. Waverly was immensely glad her attention was elsewhere, because even Wynonna wouldn’t have been able to miss Nicole’s flaming red cheeks or Waverly’s splutter as she choked on her own breath.

Wynonna turned back. “Yeah, so we’re going for a walk.”

Waverly turned to glance at Nicole, before slowly replying, “We are?”

“Yep. So get your butts out of bed and let’s _go_.”

“Where would we be going?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, Waves. I don’t plan every little detail of every day like you do. Maybe the park.”

Nicole just looked at Waverly, then to Wynonna, and then back to Waverly again. She raised her eyebrows in a silent question to the younger Earp – _do you want to go?_

Before Waverly had a chance to respond, Wynonna begun scolding Nicole. “Oh come on, Haught – girl the hell up. So what if Waves doesn’t want to go – I promise that you’ll have a much better time with me.”

Waverly nearly died for the second time in the space of a minute, and Nicole blushed an even more vibrant shade of crimson, if that was even possible.

When she’d recovered enough to speak, Waverly replied, glaring at her sister. “Actually, Wyn, I’d love to go on a walk. Nicole?”

“Um, yep, sure, love to.” She trailed off, still nodding her head.

 _Oh my god, she’s completely freaking out._ Waverly grinned, wanting to commit this moment to memory – the unflappable Nicole Haught, reduced to incoherency. If anything, it should have been Waverly who was the flustered one – it was _her_ sister that had walked in on them in bed together.

As it was, Waverly just widened her eyes at Nicole – _calm down!_ – and turned back to her sister with a smile. “Okay, we’ll meet you in ten minutes.”

Wynonna just scoffed and collapsed on the edge of the bed, shimmying to lie besides her sister. “Nah, I’ll just wait here for you.”

When Waverly began to protest, she cut her off. “Waves. I’m your sister. I know that when you say ten minutes, you mean twenty-five. And I _really_ want to get going on this walk. So I’ll stay right here, thank you very much, and shout at you when you need hurrying along.”

Waverly sighed. _She’s so insufferable, and rude, and… and…_ Even in her thoughts, Waverly couldn’t truly be angry at Wynonna.

"I don't have a change of clothes here."

Wynonna grinned and threw a handful of clothing at her, hitting the youngest Earp in the face. "I brought these for you, so you have no excuse now."

So she just glared, muttered “fine”, removed her skirt from where it was draped over her head and flipped back the covers of the bed. Nicole got out first, stretching her arms above her head and yawning loudly, before crossing to the dresser to get her clothes out. Waverly enjoyed the comfort of the bed for another two seconds – definitely _not_ watching as Nicole walked out of the room in her shorts that showed off her beautifully toned legs and –

Her thoughts were cut short as Wynonna yelled into her ear, “Nine minutes!” and cackled gleefully when Waverly flipped her off. As she got up, one thought stuck in her mind.

_This is going to be hell._

* * *

_This,_ Nicole decided, _is hell_.

“Come on Haught, keep up!” Wynonna shouted. Nicole rolled her eyes, but dutifully picked up the pace to catch up to her and Waverly. She’d purposely been dropping behind to try and avoid the incessant questions about the ‘slumber party’ that she and Waverly had had last night.

“So, what did you guys do? And why wasn’t I invited again?”

Waverly blushed and glanced at Nicole, who shrugged. _She’s your sister – you can deal with her._

“Wyn, you were at Doc’s last night.”

“And?”

“Well, you can’t be in two places at once.”

“It would have been nice to have been _invited_ , at least.” Wynonna grumbled.

Waverly rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up. I bet you had a good time without us.” She nudged Wynonna with her shoulder.

Nicole’s interest increased as Wynonna blushed slightly. _I’ve never seen her embarrassed before._ “Wait – so are you sleeping with Doc, or are you sleeping with Dolls?”

Waverly gaped at her and nearly tripped over a tree root. Nicole grabbed her arm to steady her, trying to ignore how good it felt to touch Waverly again after – she checked her watch. _Yep, one hour_. It was pitiful.

Waverly stammered a thank you, and Nicole quickly let go of her arm before she made Wynonna suspect something. And _that_ was the other reason she was hating this walk – being this close to Waverly, and not being able to touch her, to kiss her, even to say something remotely _girlfriend_ - _y_. It was unbearable.

Waverly spoke to her sister before she could notice the tension between them. “Dolls? You’ve been sleeping with Dolls? I thought it was just Doc!”

Nicole turned to her in disbelief. “You thought it was Doc? I thought it was just Dolls.”

They both raised their eyebrows at Wynonna, who was looking sufficiently guilty. After ten seconds under the pressure of their combined gazes, she broke. “Fine. Yes. I’ve been sleeping with both of them.”

Nicole chuckled, and Waverly shook her head. “Do they know?”

“Know what?” But Wynonna’s shifting eyes gave away that she knew _exactly_ what Waverly was asking.

The younger Earp clarified anyway. “Do they know? That you’ve been sleeping with both of them?”

Wynonna turned to Nicole for help, but she merely said, “Well?”

“I hate both of you.”

Waverly grinned at Nicole, making her heart flutter in delight.

Nicole tore her gaze away from Waverly (albeit with some difficulty) and spoke to Wynonna. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Wynonna threw her hands up in the air, making her way towards a picnic bench. She sat down with a huff and put her head in her hands. Nicole and Waverly took the seats opposite the older Earp, across the table.

Nicole felt Waverly’s leg press against hers under the table, and a thrill went through her. Keeping her gaze trained on Wynonna, Nicole put her hand on Waverly’s leg, beginning to trace patterns on her bare skin.

She felt Waverly stiffen next to her, but she didn’t make any move to stop Nicole so the redhead took that as permission to keep going.

Wynonna started speaking again; completely oblivious to what was going on under the table. “It _was_ just Doc at first. But then Dolls was so supportive and kind and _handsome_ … I didn’t plan to sleep with him, it just happened. One minute we were talking, and then we were kissing –”

Waverly scrunched up her face. “Ew.”

Nicole tried to stifle her laugh, and tried to ignore how utterly adorable Waverly looked. She failed on both accounts.

Wynonna continued, still cradling her head in her hands. “I don’t know what to do.” She was silent for a moment, and then finally looked at them both. “I don’t know what to do.” She repeated.

Nicole’s heart went out to the older Earp. Wynonna tried so hard to show everyone how uncaring she was, but Nicole knew exactly how vulnerable she really was. From Waverly’s softening expression, she knew that the younger Earp had an even better idea than she did.

Waverly reached a hand across the table to grasp Wynonna’s. “Hey.” She said, almost imperceptibly. Wynonna trained her gaze on her sister’s, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

Waverly continued earnestly. “We’ll figure this out, okay? It’s going to be okay.”

Wynonna nodded, drawing strength from her sister. Nicole placed her hand atop the Earp’s clasped ones. Waverly glanced at her from the corner of her eye, her gratitude shining through.

Nicole felt blessed, then, to be a part of such a beautiful moment. She knew how close Waverly and Wynonna were, and to be accepted into such a special relationship meant an unbelievable amount to her.

She felt tears begin to pool in her eyes, and hastily blinked them away. Wynonna noticed, and quickly removed her hand to rub angrily at the tear tracks down her own face.

Nicole and Waverly both seemed to realise at the same time that they were left holding each other hands, since Wynonna had let go, and disentangled themselves from each other as quickly as possible. Nicole gently squeezed Waverly’s knee under the table, just to let her know that she still needed the contact.

“You’re all a bunch of cry-babies.” Wynonna accused, interrupting the moment.

Nicole scoffed, earning a glare from the older Earp who was obviously ignoring the fact that her own eyes were as bloodshot as the rest of them.

Waverly just smiled at them both, before asking her sister, “So that’s the reason we’re on this walk.”

Wynonna avoided her gaze, finding a knot in the wood of the table very interesting all of a sudden. Nicole was left to ask, “What do you mean?”

Waverly gave her sister a pointed glance before turning to Nicole. “She’s avoiding them both. Isn’t that right, Wyn? You thought you were through with Doc, but then slept with him last night again. But you’re still sleeping with Dolls. So when you would normally have met up with them both today, you said you had plans with me and Nic.”

 _She called me Nic._ Suddenly, the motives behind Wynonna’s actions seemed insignificant, inconsequential, almost boring. _She called me Nic_.

Wynonna mumbled, “That wasn’t the only reason…”

Waverly laughed, not noticing Nicole’s slightly dazed state.  “Yeah, sure, because you just love going for walks through the park. It’s obviously one of your favourite pastimes, along with other forms of voluntary physical exercise.”

Wynonna glared at her. “You think you’re funny, but you’re really not.”

Waverly shot her a shit-eating grin. “Well, Nicole thinks I’m pretty funny.” She turned to face Nicole. “Don’t you?”

 _Oh, shit_. She was well and truly backed into a corner here. “Yeah, sure.”

She cringed when _both_ Earps gave her their best – identical – glares.

“’Yeah, sure’? What does that mean?” Waverly asked incredulously, at the same time as Wynonna said, “Really? What’s your definition of funny?”

Nicole wished she were anywhere but _here_. Trying to be as small as possible, she shrunk down and glanced around wildly for anything to save her.

Spotting a familiar cowboy hat, she pointed with relief. “Look – there’s Doc.”

Wynonna cursed and managed to squirm her way under the table, knocking into Nicole's legs. She hurriedly removed her hand from Waverly's leg. Too late, Nicole remembered why they were even on this walk in the first place. Waverly gave her a look that told her she wasn’t out of trouble yet, but that the issue would be revisited in the future.

_Oh, shit._

Doc finally caught sight of them and made his way over. He tipped his hat to them both.

Very aware that Wynonna was literally under her feet, Nicole offered Doc a strained smile. “Hey Doc.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Nicole, Miss Waverly. I can see you two are enjoying each other’s company immensely –” here, he winked at them both, causing Nicole’s blood to run cold and Waverly to freeze. Not noticing, he continued, “but I was just wondering – if either of you see Wynonna today, will you tell her I’m looking for her and would like to see her.”

Nicole managed to nod, and Waverly choked out a small “Yep.” Doc began to walk away, but then turned around and added as an afterthought, “Tell her not to worry. I know about the situation with Dolls.” With that, he walked away.

The silence that he left was finally interrupted. There was a thump, the table shook, and Wynonna’s voice rang out. “Ow, shit!”

Then, quieter, “Shit.”

Nicole wasn’t sure if Wynonna was cursing the pain in her head, or the pain in her heart.

* * *

Waverly could tell that Wynonna was much more upset than she was letting on. Ever since they were both really young, she’d been the tough one, trying to protect Waverly from their father’s curses, or Willa’s indifference, or their mother’s disappearance. But Waverly knew by the infinitesimal tightening of her mouth, by the slight creases around her eyes, by the way her hand shook ever so slightly, that Wynonna was so close to completely breaking down.

And it hurt Waverly that she’d had no idea that any of this was happening to her sister.

Wynonna had feelings – _big_ feelings – for both Doc and Dolls. They were her closest friends, but now they were so much more than that, and Wynonna was so scared that she was going to lose them both.

So when Wynonna started pointing out boys that Waverly could date, she really tried not to get annoyed at her sister. _It’s her way of distracting herself_ , she reminded herself.

Again, and again, and again.

Nicole didn’t seem to be faring much better.

Wynonna pointed towards a guy who looked twice Waverly’s size (in both directions) and said, “What about him, Waves?”

Barely giving him a glance, Waverly said, “Nope.”

Wynonna pouted. “Waves,” she whined, “you’re no fun. What’s the point in you breaking up with Champ Hardy when you won’t even date again? I need to be able to torture your next boyfriend.”

She nudged Nicole, who’d been studiously avoiding Waverly’s gaze. “It’s my favourite pastime.” She confided in a mock whisper to the redhead.

Waverly rolled her eyes, and said sharply, “I’m not getting a boyfriend just so you can interrogate them and make them terrified of coming round to our house.” She hesitated. _Screw it,_ she decided, and spoke again. “Anyway, I’m kind of already dating someone.”

Wynonna spun around to look at her, and Nicole stopped dead in her tracks.

“Who?”

Waverly’s heart was pounding. She felt so conflicted. On the one hand, she _really_ wanted to tell Wynonna about Nicole. On the other hand, she didn’t want part of the reason that she told her sister to be in order to stop the conversation about potential boyfriends.

So she shook her head, and muttered, “Nobody you know.” Even as she said it, she felt the lie sit heavy on her heart.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes but seemed to recognise that she shouldn’t push Waverly on this. She carried on walking, leaving Waverly and Nicole a couple of steps behind.

Waverly felt awful. She knew she’d messed so much with Nicole’s emotions, but there was nothing that she could do now to try and fix it. She instead trained her sights on the gravel path they were walking along, trying not to let tears blur her vision.

Nicole quickly reached out, and brushed her hand against Waverly’s. She looked up to see the redhead gazing at her, a small smile on her face. “Hey – don’t worry about it. You’re not ready to tell her. I get it.”

Waverly looked – really _looked_ – and saw nothing but support in those brown eyes. It did little to ease her conscience, but it gave her the courage to smile back and then catch up to her sister again.

Wynonna turned around with a wicked grin to fix Nicole with her attention. “So, Nicole – Waves is off the market, but what about you?”

Waverly felt actual pain at the awkwardness of this situation, but Nicole somehow seemed to find it amusing. “He’s not really my type.”

Waverly snorted. _Okay, there is a funny way of looking at this_ , she admitted to herself.

Wynonna frowned, and then pointed to another guy. “Him?”

“Nah, he’s not really my type either.” Nicole inclined her head to a nearby woman, jogging with her dog along the path. “But _she’s_ definitely worth some consideration.”

Wynonna raised her eyebrows at Nicole. And then, “Really? I’d give her a seven, maybe an eight. The dog adds at least three points to her score though.”

Waverly blinked as Nicole laughed along with Wynonna. _That’s it?_ Nicole had just pretty much come out to Wynonna, and her sister had given almost no reaction whatsoever.

Not to mention the fact that Nicole had just shown interest in another girl. _Not that she means it_ , Waverly thought to herself. _It was obviously a joke._ Still, she couldn’t help but feel obliged to glare at the woman as she ran past, with her perfect hair and perfect dog. She did consider tripping the woman up, but had the feeling that was a little _too_ far. _Just a little, though_.

She felt Nicole’s gaze on her, and turned her head to meet it. The wink that Nicole gave her behind Wynonna’s back _did_ ease the jealousy, but only slightly.

She knew the wink meant _don’t worry, I’m yours, you’re mine._

It didn’t make Waverly stop hoping for the woman to fall over of her own accord.

Tuning back into the conversation that Nicole and Wynonna were having, Waverly heard the words “birthday present”, and knew Wynonna was telling Nicole how she’d gotten the money for her motorcycle.

Suddenly aware that she had no idea when her _girlfriend’s_ birthday was, she asked, completely interrupting their conversation but not really caring.

Wynonna glared at her, but Nicole answered (only sounding a little confused). “Next Wednesday. Why?”

“Why?!” Waverly repeated incredulously. Even Wynonna turned her gaze from Waverly to Nicole to fix her with the _don’t be stupid_ look. Wynonna answered before Waverly could. “We’re going to throw you a party, dumbass.”

Nicole blushed, and stammered, “No – you really don’t have to do that.”

Waverly smiled sweetly, already sifting through ideas. “I know. That’s what makes me so nice.”

Wynonna scoffed, but the reply got a reluctant smile from Nicole, though her eyes remained guarded.

Ignoring the shadows in Nicole’s expression, Waverly began thinking of different ways to make Nicole’s birthday the best she’d ever had. By the time they returned home, she was itching for paper and a pencil to write it all down before she forgot a detail.

She _was_ a planner, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this in four days - FOUR DAYS - which I think is some sort of record for me (the first two chapters didn't count because I'd already written them both).  
> Anyways, how did you like it? I really enjoyed writing this chapter - dialogue is much easier and more fun to write.  
> Also, I may have put a Carmilla reference and Wicked reference in there... I'm sorry but I have no control over my actions   
> Like I've said before, kudos and comments are lovely and greatly appreciated.  
> Also - THANK YOU so so so so so so much for reading this. It means a lot.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A motorcycle crash puts a bit of a downer on the party spirit.

Waverly giggled as Nicole absentmindedly traced patterns over her bare stomach. Waverly was lain on her bed, with Nicole’s head resting on her stomach. She looked up at the sound, her auburn hair glimmering, and smirked. “What?”

“You’re tickling me.”

“I’m tickling you?” Waverly nodded, and Nicole’s face broke out in an evil smile. “What about now?” Her hand had moved lower, closer to the waistband of Waverly’s underwear. The brunette’s heart race increased rapidly, but she tried to control her breathing.

“And now?” Nicole snapped the elastic of Waverly’s underwear, and she forgot entirely how to breathe.

“Come here.” Waverly ordered hoarsely, grabbing Nicole’s arm and dragging her back up to face her. She kissed Nicole roughly and passionately, still marvelling at how amazing every single kiss they shared was.

They’d been _together_ for nearly two months now. It was scaring Waverly slightly how easily Nicole fit into her life. With Champ, it had always been a struggle – should he come over to hers, should she go over to his, should they even bother seeing each other today? But with Nicole, everything just _fit_. They seemed to fit perfectly into each other’s lives, and the thought of not seeing Nicole every day made Waverly decidedly uneasy.

There were words, three of them, swimming around in Waverly’s head whenever she was in Nicole’s company. She longed to say them out loud, let Nicole know the depth and intensity of what she was feeling. But the thought of scaring Nicole away, of overwhelming her after only _two months_ of dating, overpowered that longing. So she just repeated the words, over and over in her own mind.

_I love you._

Waverly broke off the kiss, suddenly struck by a question. “What type of cake do you prefer – Victoria sponge or Red Velvet?”

Nicole groaned and flopped onto her side, having been pestered by Waverly about her birthday for the past few days. After a nudge from Waverly, she rolled her eyes but answered. “Victoria sponge, obviously.”

“Obviously?”

Nicole fixed Waverly with a glare. “Red velvet cake is an abomination, and should never be spoken of again.”

Waverly giggled. “It’s not that ba –”

Nicole cut her off with a peck to the lips. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” she breathed against the Earp’s mouth.

“What you gonna do?” Waverly whispered back, eyes already fluttering shut in anticipation of the kiss.

Sure enough, Nicole’s lips soon found Waverly’s, and the Earp had to grin at the predictability. Soon, though, the kiss got more serious, and when Nicole bit at her bottom lip, Waverly felt her body respond immediately.

Waverly's phone started buzzing beside her. Nicole groaned slightly, sending vibrations into Waverly's mouth, and Waverly shivered.

"Ignore it" she managed to gasp out.

"But it might be your sister."

"Ignore it." Waverly repeated, pulling Nicole close again. But Nicole wiggled away and reached for the phone. It was displaying an unknown number.

Nicole threw it over to Waverly who glared at her and answered. "Hello?"

Nicole crawled closer again, and resumed her previous position on Waverly's stomach. Finding it increasingly difficult to focus on what was being said, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of Nicole.

_"Waverly Earp?"_

"Yes, speaking."

_"This is the hospital."_

Waverly sat straight up in bed, her heart hammering in her chest. Nicole sat up too, a concerned look on her face as she watched Waverly.

_"I'm afraid your sister's been in an accident on her motorcycle."_

"What? No, no that's not right." Images of Wynonna bleeding out flooded through her mind, and everything seemed to be moving twice as slowly but also twice as rapidly. Her mind whirled, and she couldn't make sense of anything. Nicole's hand grasped in her own was the only thing that seemed to be grounding her.

_"Miss Earp, your sister is fine. She has a large laceration on her arm, and a smaller one on her head. We have to keep her in hospital overnight in case she has concussion. She asked us to call you, but has since lost consciousness from the medication she's on for the pain."_

Slowly, Waverly began to calm down. The room stopped spinning, and breathing was coming a little easier. "She's okay?"

Nicole gave her hand a squeeze, and the man on the phone repeated, _"She's okay."_

"Right, I'm on my way over." She hung up after thanking the doctor, and sat in silence for a moment. Nicole didn't say anything, just continued to hold her hand tightly, offering her support. Questions and concern swim in her brown eyes, but she gave Waverly the time she needed to sort her emotions out.

“That was the hospital. Wynonna’s been in an accident.” She felt like she was in a daze. She could hear the words, knew that she’d said them; it just felt like everything was disconnected, not real.

Nicole gasped, clenching her hand around Waverly’s. “Is she going to be okay?”

Waverly nodded slowly, tears gathering in her eyes. Nicole saw them and instantly gathered Waverly close, holding the Earp tightly as she sobbed.

Quickly, though, Waverly stopped the tears. _There’ll be time for that later._ Now, she had to go see her sister.

Nicole understood instinctively, and stood up, holding out her hand. “Come on. Let’s go to the hospital.”

* * *

Wynonna was lay in a hospital bed in a gown, looking the smallest and most vulnerable that Waverly’s ever seen her. She instantly sat by the bed and took her sister’s hand, already feeling comforted by the contact.

_She’s here, she’s alright._

Nicole hung back slightly, obviously not sure where she fit into the situation. Waverly smiled softly at her before inclining her head to a chair next to her.

As soon as she’d sat down, the door swung open and Dolls practically ran in. His arm was encased in plaster and was in a sling, and he looked unsteady on his feet. As soon as he saw Wynonna, a look of pure relief crossed his face, and he let out the breath he’d been holding.

“Dolls? Are you okay?” Nicole asked, half-rising from her chair to help him.

He nodded, making his way to perch on the end of Wynonna’s bed. “Yeah… I was in the accident, with Wynonna. I was on the back of the bike.” He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. “She couldn’t do anything. It was that guy from town – Bobo Del Ray? – who caused the crash. He practically ran us off the road.”

“Purposely?” Waverly whispered, disgusted but not too surprised. Bobo had a reputation in Purgatory for being the nastiest piece of work around.

Dolls nodded in affirmation, then said after a pause, “Wynonna, she… she tried to angle us so that I’d be protected.” Tears glimmered in his eyes, and he hastily wiped at his face. “I need to get checked for concussion, but I just needed to see her, first. Make sure she was okay.”

Waverly nodded. “You should go, make sure you’re properly checked out. We’ll stay with her.”

Dolls smiled in gratitude and then left the room. Nicole stood up as the door was just closing. “I should go with him, make sure he’s okay. Keep me updated about Wynonna?”

Waverly nodded in agreement, and Nicole pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before catching up to Dolls.

For a while, the only sounds that filled the room was Wynonna’s gentle breathing and the constant hum of machinery. Then, Wynonna’s breathing hitched, and she started to slowly open her eyes.

“Hey,” Waverly said quietly, not wanting to startle her sister. She squeezed Wynonna’s hand and plastered on the brightest and bravest smile she could muster, desperate to be strong for her sister.

“Hey yourself.” Wynonna’s voice was raspy and hoarse, but it was still _her_. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital. You were in a motorbike accident.”

Wynonna’s gaze widened in understanding, and she instantly looked around the room. “Where’s Dolls? He was with me, on the bike. Where is he? Is he okay?” She started to panic, trying to get out of bed to look for him.

Waverly quickly pushed Wynonna back down, reassuring her with, “Dolls is here in the hospital too. I think he’s got a broken arm, but that’s it. He checked in on you earlier.”

“He’s okay?” Wynonna needed confirmation one more time.

“He’s okay.” Waverly repeated, smiling at her softly.

“Good. I… I need to tell him about Doc. It was a mistake. I lov – _like_ Dolls. I mean, Doc’s one of my best friends, but…” she trails off, unable to finish.

Waverly continued for her. “But you’re in love with Dolls, not Doc.”

Wynonna scoffed, trying to brush her off. “Not everything’s about love, Waves. Stop being so gooey and emotional. It’s making me feel sick.”

Waverly laughed, just glad to hear Wynonna being Wynonna again. “It’s okay to be in love, Wyn. It’s an amazing feeling. You feel like you can do anything, go anywhere, as long as you have this person with you.”

Wynonna raised her eyebrows. “Who’s captured your heart, little sis?”

Waverly’s heart began to thump. _Now or never_. She focused on their clasped hands, too afraid to look her sister in the eye. “Nicole.” She whispered, barely making a sound.

Wynonna heard though. For a moment, she didn’t respond, and Waverly started to panic. _I knew I should never had said anything, I’ve ruined my relationship with Wyn and –_

Her thoughts were cut off when a grin slowly spread across Wynonna’s face. “It’s about damn time you said something.”

“What?” Waverly was thoroughly confused.

“You’ve been dating Nicole Haught – one of my _best friends_ – for over a month, and you thought I wouldn’t notice? Even if you weren’t being _totally_ obvious –”

Waverly spluttered indignantly. “We weren’t _obvious_!”

Wynonna laughed.  “Oh, _come on_ Waves. All those sleepovers that I was never given an invitation to? All those little moments where you’d look at one another with disgustingly cute heart eyes? All those times I’d walk in to your bedrooms and you’d literally be on top of each other?”

“I do not have heart eyes…” Waverly muttered, flaming red but feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “So, what – you knew, this entire time?”

Wynonna smirked. “You got together after that karaoke night, right?”

Waverly nodded, speechless.

“Then yes, I’ve known all along.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

Wynonna’s smile grew softer, more tender, as she answered the question. “Waverly, I’m pretty sure you always thought you were straight. And suddenly you’re in a relationship with a woman. It’s a lot to deal with for _yourself_ , never mind trying to explain it to your sister. I wanted you to be comfortable and _ready_ when you decided to tell me.”

Waverly felt tears pool in her eyes for the second time that day, and she managed to choke out, “I love you, Wyn.”

Wynonna opened her arms wide. “Come here, you.” She hugged Waverly tightly, and whispered in her ear, “Love you too, Waves.”

The moment was interrupted when the door opened, revealing a very worried looking Doc.

“I got here as soon as I could. Are you alright?”

Waverly stood up, sensing that her sister could use a little privacy right now. She had some explaining to do, both to Doc and Dolls, and Waverly would only make it harder and more awkward.

As she left the room, she encountered Nicole and Dolls coming down the corridor. Dolls offered her a tight smile but didn’t slow, heading straight for Wynonna’s room. Waverly watched him go, not envious of her sister right now.

Nicole hung back a little, and drew closer to where Waverly was stood in the corner.

“Hey,” she grinned, grasping the redhead’s hand and drawing her close.

“You seem… happy?”

Waverly hummed in agreement, looking up at her girlfriend with a huge smile. “I told Wynonna.”

“Oh, Waves…” Nicole beamed at her, before bending down to press a light kiss to Waverly’s lips. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Can I have another kiss, then?”

Nicole laughed, but still kissed her again, this time a little deeper and bordering on inappropriate for hospital corridors. When they drew apart, Waverly kept her eyes closed.

She wanted to stay in this moment for a little longer; her family was safe in the next room, and she’d just kissed the woman that she loved.

Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...... It may have been a little while (i.e. a long time) since I updated, but I'd just got to a writer's block with this fic. It still weighed heavily on my mind though, so I managed to finish it. I hope the ending isn't disappointing - I wanted to tie up all the loose ends and round off the story, and I'm pretty pleased with the end result.  
> Anyways, I have really enjoyed writing this, and your comments and kudos have inspired me to finally finish it, so THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
> 
> P.S. I have another WayHaught fic already under way, I'm nearly 10 chapters in and still going strong (yay me!)


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